Final Kingdom Arc 1 Kingdom Hearts Academy
by Titano Man XIII
Summary: Xion Alyson Stoner has been accepted to the prestigious if oddly named Kingdom Hearts Academy. A place where children are taught to be heroes. Here she plans on living an exciting life and make a name for herself. But that plan pretty much flies out the window when she meets a girl named Karly. Full description on my profile! Chapter 14 reuploaded.
1. Welcome to Kingdom Hearts Academy!

Titano Man XIII: Greetings lost lambs. I am here to bring to you all another excellent story by yours truly.

Sora: Will I be in this one too?

Titano Man XIII: Yes.

Sora: Awesome.

Ragna the Bloodedge: Will I be in this story too?

Titano Man XIII: No... At least not yet.

Ragna: What?!

Titano Man XIII: This story is a Kingdom Hearts/Dissidia Final Fantasy crossover. So I'm just going to focus of Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy for now. *Pulls a lever*

A trapdoor opens up right under Ragna's feet.

Ragna: Wait!

Ragna falls through the floor screaming all the way.

Nu-13: Like, you're not going to kick Nu out too?

Titano Man XIII: No way Nu-chan! You're just way too cute to kick out onto the street.

Nu: Yay!

Titano Man XIII: Well now that we have that established. Bear with me. This is my second story. Now let's get this show on the road! Can someone give the disclaimer?

Noel Vermillion: I'll do it! Titano Man XIII does not own Kingdom Hearts, the Final Fantasy series, and any of other things that he decides to put into this story. He does however have ownership over all of the O.C.s that appear in this story.

* * *

><p><strong>Final Kingdom<strong>

**Arc 1: Kingdom Hearts Academy**

**In a mansion-like house in the rural section of Radiant Garden!**

The scene opens to show a large bedroom with mint-green walls. The room had a large walk-in closet, a private bathroom, a large balcony, a large queen sized bed with mint colored sheets, a vanity mirror sitting atop a few drawers, a mahogany nightstand stood next to the bed with a Mickey Mouse alarm clock sitting on top of it .

Nestled comfortably under the sheets was a beautiful young woman with long, straight, dark black/brown hair with mint-green highlights in it.

The young woman slept peacefully until...

**RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!**

The alarm clock on the nightstand began to ring loudly, causing the girl's face to scrunch up in displeasure.

With a tick mark on her head she grabbed the annoying object and threw it against the wall causing it to shatter into thousands of pieces.

The scene froze as the name of the chapter appeared on screen.

**Chapter 1: Welcome to Kingdom Hearts Academy!**

The scene then picked up where it left off.

With a sleepy moan the girl pulled the covers over her head and went back to sleep.

Several minutes later the door opened to reveal a small winged creature flying into the room. It had a small body with small purple bat-like wings on its back and stubby arms and legs, small squinted eyes, white fur, cat-like ears, and floating over its head was a fury red pom-pom-like appendage connected to its head by a long black wiry antenna. This adorable little creature was known as a Moogle.

**Bestiary****: **Moogles: A race of highly intelligent creatures that can be found all over the world. These creatures are capable of many amazing feats that range from delivering mail, to running shops, to, in rare cases, building highly advanced vehicles such as Airships, and even being able to speak the human language. The Moogle have existed for so long that they have become a part of everyday life.

"Kupo?" the Moogle squeaked as it looked at the sleeping girl. It flew over to her and nudged her shoulder a bit. "It's time to wake up my lady. Kupo." The flying creature said in a female voice.

"Five more minutes..." the girl groaned out sleepily.

The Moogle then grabbed the blanket with its stubby arms and pulled it of the bed exposing the girl causing said girl to groan and scrunch herself into a ball in order to stay asleep. She wore a white tee shirt that was a few sizes too big and bared one of her shoulders and a pair of mint green sweat pants.

'Why does she have to be so difficult? Kupo.' the Moogle thought in annoyance. 'How will I wake her up? Oh I got it Kupo! I'll just use that loud thing that Miss. Kara bought the other day!' the small flying creature thought as she giggled mischievously.

She left the room for a few minutes and soon returned with an air horn in her hands, er... paws? Whatever. The Moogle then pointed the nozzle to the brunette's face. She snickered in anticipation as she pushed down on the button on top.

...

...

...

No sound came out.

"Kupo?" the Moogle said in confusion. She turned the noise maker around to see if there was anything blocking the nozzle. Seeing nothing she pressed the button again only this time the poor creature got a full blast of noise and air from the canned object into her furry little face.

The girl sat up in her bed with a shriek at the sudden loud noise. She looked over to see the small Moogle rolling around on the floor in pain, clutching its sensitive ears while crying out its signature verbal tick several times.

The girl threw a glare at the still writhing Moogle.

"Why did you wake me up?!" she whined with a pout.

The Moogle soon recovered and floated in the air in front of her. "I had to wake you up somehow kupo." said the Moogle.

Before the girl could say anything the door flew open to reveal a young woman with shoulder length brown hair and icy blue eyes. She wore a simple black maid's uniform showing that she was one of the many servants that worked in the large house.

"Karly? I heard you scream. Is everything alright?!" the woman said in concern.

"Everything's fine Kara." the now named Karly said with an annoyed sigh.

"Alright. Just don't take too long, okay." the brunette said as she pulled back the curtains to let the light in. "You still have to get ready to go to your first day of school." Kara said with a small smile and a bow of respect to her employer.

"Yeah, yeah." Karly said drowsily before she realized what her faithful servant had said to her. Her eyes widened in horror as she stared at Kara, who had a look of innocence on her face.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" she screamed with anime tears going down her face.

**Play Awesome Anime Opening!**

* * *

><p><span><strong>Meanwhile on the other side of town.<strong>

**Play Final Fantasy VIII OST- Breezy**

In an apartment above a small café on the other side of Radiant Garden, a young woman with short black hair was sleeping peacefully in the early morning. Under her closed eyelids were blue eyes that were the same color as the sky. All was quiet until...

**BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEE-**

The girl hit the snooze button on her alarm clock and sat up with a yawn. After getting up and stretching her sleepy limbs she grabbed a towel and went to the bathroom to start her day.

After taking a shower and brushing her teeth she pulled out something for herself to wear. After several minutes of trying to find the right outfit the ravenette pulled on a simple white tee shirt, long blue jeans, a black short sleeved jacket, and a pair of black converse sneakers.

The girl then made her way to the kitchen and made herself a quick breakfast. After breakfast the girl returned to her room and gathered several notebooks, binders, pencils, pens, etc. you know normal school stuff.

After locking her front door, she turned around to greet the empty morning streets. "Alright." she said after taking a deep breath. "Today's the day. My first day of school and a fresh start! So don't mess anything up Xion!" she said to herself in order to boost her self-confidence.

"Let's Go!" she said as she pumped her fist into the air and ran off towards the school and towards a new adventure. (I know, I know, it sounds kinda Mary Sue-ish.)

* * *

><p><span><strong>Back at the mansion around half an hour earlier!<strong>

"-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Karly screamed with anime tears falling from her eyes.

"Oh, don't dramatic Karly." Kara said with a giggle.

"But I don't wanna go to school!" whined the brunette. "Please don't make me go!" she begged like a little kid.

"Sorry, but you have to go. Your brother wants you to have friends your own age." the woman said with a shrug.

"But I already have tons of friends!" the teenager said defensively.

"Friends that aren't older than you or spend all of their time online." the maid said in a deadpanned tone.

Karly groaned in defeat. "Fine. I'll go." she sighed sadly before getting up to get dressed.

Kara had laid out a simple camouflage print top, a dark green mini-skirt, black biker shorts, knee-length black socks, a camouflage print jacket to match the top, and a mint green tie.

"What's that?" the girl asked pointing to the tie.

**Play Legend of Zelda Majora's Mask OST- Clock Town Day 2**

"Oh this? I just thought you would look nice wearing this today." the older brunette said as she held up the piece of fabric.

"A tie." Karly said blandly.

"Yep." Kara said in a peppy sort of way.

"I'm not wearing that." the younger brunette said as she crossed her arms.

"Why not?" the android said sounding hurt. "I thought you liked this color?" she asked as she looked at the tie.

"I don't hate the color or anything, it's just that no one will take me seriously with that on." the teenager said with a sigh.

"Don't be ridiculous. Besides it could only be for just today." the woman said coaxingly.

"Irregardless. I'm still not going to wear it." Karly said defiantly.

"Oh, yes you are." Kara said seriously though she had a smile on her face.

"Oh, no I'm not!" the younger brunette argued back.

"Yes you will!" Kara's smile no longer held any warmth, which made a shiver run down the girl's spine, but she held on quite stubbornly.

"I will not!"

"You will too!"

"Will not!"

"Will too!"

"WILL NOT!"

WILL TOO!"

"I WILL NOT WEAR A FREAKING TIE!"

* * *

><p><span><strong>Five minutes later!<strong>

"I can't believe you're making me wear this." Karly said with a cloud of depression hanging over her head. The tie hung loosely from her neck in a casual manner.

"Don't be so dramatic Karly. It looks good on you." the woman said reassuringly.

"Yeah whatever." the teenager said with a sigh.

"Well, hurry up so you can have some breakfast." the older brunette said as she walked down to the kitchen.

Karly stuck her tongue out at Kara's back before following after the woman.

After breakfast Karly got the rest of her things together and had strapped her trusty sword to her back and just as she was about to leave, she heard Kara call out to her.

"Do you have everything you need?" the maid said as she washed the dishes.

"Yes!" Karly said back to her servant.

"School supplies?" the older brunette asked as she began drying the dishes.

"Yep!" said the younger brunette.

"House Keys?" she asked as she finished drying the dishes.

"Uh-huh!" replied the girl.

"Gil?" Kara asked as she came into the main hallway while drying her hands.

"Yeah." Karly said while patting the spot where she kept her money.

"I see... And your phone?" the maid asked as she crossed her arms.

Karly rolled her eyes. "Of course I have my-" she cut herself off when she saw Kara hold up a very new and very expensive looking phone.

Kara smirked at the sheepish look that came onto Karly's face.

"Heh, oops." the girl said as she rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment.

The woman giggled in amusement. "Try not to lose this next time, alright. Your brother had to work very hard to get this for you before it could even hit the shelves." the older brunette said as she gave the device back to Karly.

"I know. I'll try not to lose it." the girl said as she put away the device.

_**Received Phone.**_

"Okay well, I'm off." she said as she walked out the door.

"Tell your friends I said hi!" she yelled as Karly walked away.

"Sure." the younger brunette shouted back as she walked away.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Meanwhile with Xion<strong>

**Play Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep OST- Radiant Garden**

Xion was walking down the streets of Radiant Garden, taking in all of the sights of the great capital of light. Since she had just moved to town she hadn't been able to go sightseeing, but right now she was amazed by the architecture of the buildings and the many gardens that litter the city, making it live up to its name quite nicely.

As she reached the city's Central Square she saw a beautiful young woman with long curly mint colored hair pulled up into a ponytail by a pink ribbon, violet colored eyes, and a figure that could kill any hormonal teenage boy from where they stood. She wore a sleeveless red dress with floral patterns, long red sleeves, several sashes around her waist, red and silver earrings, patterned white tights, red boots with gold colored toes and heels, and a long pale pink cape. By her feet was a small red travel bag. The girl looked quite lost as she was trying to discern her location by turning the map every which-way-and-that.

"Looks like she's lost." the ravenette thought as she made her way to the girl.

"Okay, I'm here..." the girl muttered as she pointed to the spot on the map the represented the Central Square. "And the place I need to go to is...?" she trailed off as she scanned the map for her destination.

"Um, hi... What are you doing?" Xion asked from while looking over the girl's shoulder, causing her to jump away in while clutching her chest.

"P-please don't sneak up on me like that." the poor girl asked while panting softly.

"Oh, sorry." the ravenette said sheepishly.

"Anyways, I'm looking for Kingdom Hearts Academy. It's my first day and I'm afraid that I don't know where it is." the green haired girl said sheepishly as she looked over the map.

"You're looking for Kingdom Hearts Academy?" Xion asked in surprise. "Me too!" she said with a smile. "But just to let you know..." she said in a confidential tone as she moved closer to the girl. "You can't get there by any normal means." she said as the green haired girl leaned in.

"Then how do you get there?" the girl asked in a whisper, her violet eyes wide in anticipation.

"You use the Way Stones of course!" Xion responded with a grin which caused the girl to face vault.

"Heh, I didn't think of using those." the girl said sheepishly as she recovered from her impromptu make out session with the ground.

"C'mon. I happen to know that there's one down in Castle Town." the ravenette said with a friendly smile as she took the girl's hand and began pulling her towards Castle Town. "Oh! I almost forgot! What's your name?" the ravenette asked as the two walked at a leisurely pace.

"My name is Terra Branford." the now identified Terra said with a small friendly smile.

"Nice to meet you Terra. My name is Xion Alyson Stoner." the ravenette said with a grin as she extended her hand to the green haired girl for a handshake.

"Likewise." Terra said as she shook Xion's hand.

The two girls then left to find the Way Stone that was located in Castle Town.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Meanwhile with Karly!<strong>

Karly had decided to take a detour through the city's Outer Gardens before heading to the academy.

She strolled about while drinking her favorite drink, which was a double chocolate chip frappuccino with white mocha syrup (aka an Oreo Frappuccino) from a local Starbucks that she frequently visits.

"Ahhh... Nothing beats a good Oreo Frapp in the morning." she said in a satisfied tone. She took a sip from the cup only to whine when nothing came out. "Done already?" she sighed before staring longingly at the empty cup. "Sometimes I wish I had a never ending supply of this stuff." she said sadly before shrugging her shoulders indifferently and throwing the empty cup into a nearby recycling bin.

She was about to make her way down the main road back into the city when she heard a voice call out to her.

"Hey Karly!" said a young man with cyan colored eyes and dirty blond hair that's quite distinctive. His hair was in a rather odd mullet-like style, and he had several individual bangs that fell over his face. He wore a blue tee shirt with underneath a black zipperless, long sleeved jacket with blue sleeves and an equally blue hood. He had on a pair of black skinny jeans, black shin-length boots, black fingerless gloves, and a blue guitar pick that was tied onto a necklace with a piece of string. He was running at her with his arms outstretched as if to hug her.

The brunette turned around to face the man and sighed. She then reached into the pockets of her jacket and pulled out a pair of mint-green gloves with silver studs on the knuckles. She slipped the gloves on and took a basic boxing stance.

When the blond man got close enough the girl lashed out and struck the man on the jaw. "Falcon Pawnch!" she shouted as she launched a devastating uppercut on the poor hapless fool.

"Aaaaa Arrrrgh!" the man screamed as he was sent flying into the sky. Within moments he disappeared from view with a faint ding.

Karly sighed in annoyance as the odd man disappeared from view. "Idiot." she muttered as she turned back to the city's Entryway. But before she could get moving again she heard the sound of clapping.

"Alright Karly. Fight, fight, fight. You never cease to amaze me." said a male voice from behind her.

The brunette smirked at the familiar voice and turned around to see two people walking towards her.

One man had a lithe and skinny build along with fair skin with rosy hues, a widow's peak, rather small eyebrows, and thick, shoulder-length bright red hair styled into slicked-back spikes. His eyes were a bright emerald color. He wore a sleeveless orange jacket with a white, sleeveless shirt underneath, and tan, baggy pants with red and white sneakers and black socks. The pockets of his jacket were a darker shade of orange than the rest of it. And wrapped around his neck was a yellow and brown Keffiyeh. The pattern of the Keffiyeh changed abruptly near the man's neck, from stripes to a very organized checkerboard pattern. And the tip of said Keffiyeh was also frayed slightly.

The other man, in comparison to the redhead, appeared to be much more sophisticated. He had bright aqua blue eyes, though his left one was clearly visible, the right one being covered by his long, layered bangs. His steel-blue hair sports messy bangs that completely cover the right side of his face, reaching about an inch or two past his chin. On his left side, his bangs, though still rather long, are shorter than the right side, partially covering his ear. A few strands of hair fell over the exposed sections of his face. And the back of the man's hair is quite a bit shorter than the front. He wore a long white lab coat over a grey vest with a collared white shirt under it, and a purple ascot. He wore a pair of dark gray pants, and a pair of black shin-length boots. He had his nose buried in a large black Lexicon. The cover displays three interconnected Nobody symbols. The back bears the outline of another Nobody logo. The spine of the book displays the Roman number six (VI), along with the title "Hallucination-Another Side", superimposed over yet another Nobody symbol.

"With any luck, she knocked him all the way to Crystalis.(1)" said the man with steel-blue hair without looking up from his book.

"Nah. We're not that lucky." said the redhead.

"Hmm. I hope I'm not losing my touch. You don't think I'm losing my touch, do you Axel?" Karly asked with a mock pout.

"Of course not." Axel said reassuringly. "Right Zexion?" he asked as he elbowed the man in the ribs.

The man grunted in annoyance before speaking. "Please don't call me by that silly nickname Lea. But if you want me to help your friend then fine." he said as he looked up from his Lexicon. "You aren't losing your touch Karly. It's just that we are cursed with having to deal with our idiot friend until we graduate." Ienzo said as he closed his book and in disappeared in a flash of purple light.

"Charming as always oh prince of the emos." the brunette said in a playfully sarcastic tone.

Zexion grunted in annoyance as he rolled his eyes.

"So, how's everything Axel?" asked Karly.

"Eh. you know. Same old, same old." the redhead said nonchalantly.

Just then the trio heard screaming coming from up above them. They looked up to see the blond from earlier falling back to earth. He hit the ground kicking up a large cloud of dust in the process.

"Welcome back Demyx." Axel said cheerfully.

"Hey guys." the blond said weakly.

**Demyx owned:** 1

"Sorry 'bout that Demyx. But you know how much I hate it when people try to glomp me." said Karly.

"That's okay." Demyx said as he stood up and dusted himself off.

"So, where's everybody else?" the brunette said as she looked around.

"They're over at the academy already." said the redhead.

"Oh, well let's get going, otherwise prince emo here will chew us out for ruining his perfect attendance." Karly said jokingly, earning an annoyed grunt from Zexion as he returned to reading his Lexicon.

The girl then ran through the Entryway on her way to the nearest way stone, followed by Axel, Demyx, and Zexion.

* * *

><p><span><strong>With Xion and Terra!<strong>

Xion and Terra were walking down the road towards the heart of Castle Town talking mostly about girl stuff as they walked along.

Everything was going well until they turned a corner and Xion bumped into someone hard enough to send her crashing to the ground.

"Xion! Are you alright?" Terra asked as she crouched down next to her friend.

Yeah, I'm fine. My butt hurts though." the ravenette said while rubbing her sore rear.

"Hey, watch where you're going next time!" said an irritated male voice.

"I'm sorry sir. I should have been watching where I was going." Xion said as she looked at the man she had bumped into.

The man in question was a boy with spiky jet-black hair and golden eyes. He was wearing a black tee-shirt with a red Unversed emblem on the front, black jeans that were frayed at the bottom of the pant-legs, dark brown combat boots, a black long-sleeved, hooded jacket with the sleeves turning red from the elbows down, red gloves, red elbow and knee pads, and black shoulder pads.

"Tch, whatever. Where were you heading to anyways?" the black haired boy asked as he watched Terra help Xion back up.

"We were heading to Kingdom Hearts Academy to attend our first day of classes." replied Terra.

"That dump? I'm a little surprised that they accepted such obviously untalented, brainless, and top heavy broads like you two." the boy said casually as he cleaned out an ear.

"What was that?!" Xion said with absolute feminine fury. Sure her boobs were a little big, but that certainly doesn't mean that she was brainless or untalented!

Terra too was glaring murderously at the sexist a-hole standing in front of her.

"What?" the boy asked when he noticed how the girls were glaring at him.

The next thing the boy knew, he was on the ground clutching his nose in pain.

He watched as the two fuming girls stomped away while every other man on the street completely avoided them in order to preserve their ability to reproduce.

'_Great Will. Don't they know how to take a joke?_' the black haired boy thought as he held his nose.

* * *

><p><span><strong>With Karly and company!<strong>

**Play Final Fantasy VIII OST- Balamb Garden**

Karly, Axel, Demyx, and Zexion had arrived at the academy's front plaza where all of the students hung out when they had time off.

The academy was very large and very up-to-date in terms of technology. There were five buildings, each with a specific purpose. The five stories building in the back was the main building where all of the classes were held.

The second tallest building, which was four stories, was the dormitories. This was where the students from outside of Radiant Garden stay during the school year. The third tallest building, which was three stories, was the library, where students and faculty can check out books. The second smallest building, which was only a single story tall, was the gymnasium, where students have their physical education classes and a few of their after school activities. And the smallest building was a large greenhouse that the gardening club uses for their meetings. This was the prestigious if oddly named Kingdom Hearts Academy. The greatest school in all of Radiant Garden. There are only three ways to get in here. One, you came from a rich family. Two, you were recommended by the king or some other important person. And three, you have a special power or talent that sets you apart from everyone else.

Karly gave an impressed whistle.

"Pretty cool huh?" Lea asked as he elbowed Karly in the arm.

"It's not that bad. I heard about this place from my older brother." Karly said and she stretched her arms above her head.

"I had no idea that you had an older brother Karly." said Ienzo. (I will refer to them by their human names while Karly will refer to them by their Nobody names.)

"Yeah, I do. But I haven't seen him since I moved here to Radiant Garden." the brunette said as she pulled out a can of soda and popped the top off. "I heard that he went here a long time ago and that he was top of his class or something. I don't care about that really. All I care about is making a name for myself here!" Karly said with determination as she took a sip of her soda.

Karly, Lea, and Myde walked off towards the school while Ienzo went off in another direction. Probably to read books in private.

Lea saw that there was still plenty of time before first classes started.

"Hey Karly, mind if I show you around the place before classes start? That way you'll have an idea where your classes will be." the redhead said nonchalantly.

Karly thought about it for a moment. "Why not? At least I'll be able to find a few short cuts later." she said with a casual shrug. "Want to come along Demyx?" the brunette asked while looking at the blond.

"Nah, you guys go on ahead. I'll just chill out here for a while." replied the blonde.

"Okay." Karly said in a tone that said that she didn't really care otherwise. "So whatcha gonna do?" she asked with slight curiosity.

"Watch." said Lea.

Myde walked to a clear spot in the plaza right next to the fountain. "All right Karly. Prepare to be impressed!" the blond called out, which also brought the attention of a few other students. Myde raised his left arm into the air and a moment a large torrent of water comes blasting out of the fountain towards the musician. The water then began to swirl around the blond at high speeds before pooling together over his opened palm. The collected water began to take shape and solidify into a large blue sitar that had a vague resemblance to the Nobody emblem. He grasped the neck of the instrument and spun it in the air with a flourish before striking a pose in which he pointed to the crowd.

The display earned him a small round of applause, mostly from the freshmen students.

"Thank you! Thank You! You're all too kind." Myde said with a few bows before he sat down on the fountain's ledge and began playing a mellow tune.

"So?" Lea asked expectantly.

"So what?" Karly asked as she took a sip from her beverage.

The redhead rolled his eyes. "What did you think?" he asked as he crossed his arms.

"It was okay I guess. You know, for Demyx. But I've seen better." she walked off. "C'mon! You said that you would show me around." she said without turning me around.

The redhead sighed. "Roxas was so much easier to impress." he muttered before following the girl.

* * *

><p>As they made they made their way to the main school building their attention was drawn to the sound of a commotion happening nearby.<p>

"Watch where you're going loser!" came an aggravated male voice.

"Yeah! You can't go bumping into the head of the disciplinary committee, y'know!" said a second male voice.

"Disrespectful." said a monotonous female voice.

"Sorry. We didn't see you there. Honest!" said another male voice.

The sound of someone getting punched and a girl screaming was heard.

"What's going on over there?" Karly asked in curiosity.

"Let's check it out." Lea said as he walked over to where the commotion was taking place.

**Play Final Fantasy VII OST- Turks Theme**

When the two got there, they saw a young man with slicked back spiky dark brown hair and deep azure colored eyes. He wore a black short-sleeved muscle shirt that hugged his torso and showed off all of his muscles (something all of the ladies enjoyed immensely), a silver necklace with an azure gemstone on it, long light gray pants, black fingerless gloves, black and gray sneakers, and a large light gray, long-sleeved, hooded sweater wrapped around his waist. He was on the ground holding his cheek in pain.

Standing next to the boy was a petite young woman with shoulder-length hair that was a mix of blue and gray, along with large eyes that were like that of a Lapis Lazuli with little flecks of white to complete the illusion of looking into the endless night. She wore a silver necklace with a lapis lazuli gemstone on it, a white tee-shirt, a navy blue cardigan, blue biker shorts underneath an equally blue skirt with star-like patterns on it and a white belt, and a pair of white flats.

And standing to the other side of the downed brunet was a young man with spiky bright red hair and bright emerald-green eyes. He too wore a silver necklace, but with a red gemstone on it, a white tee-shirt under an open long-sleeved, red jacket with white linings and a white hood, a pair of blue jeans, and a pair of red and white sneakers.

And standing behind the brunet was a young woman with medium-length snow-white hair that parted at the right with a light-blue ribbon tied into a small bow on a bang that framed the left side of her face and heterochromia: with her right eye being a deep sapphire-blue and the left being a rich ruby-red. She wore a white, long-sleeved, button-up blouse underneath an unbuttoned, black, two-tailed jacket, similar to ones worn by most butlers, a pair of white gloves, a black knee-length skirt, thigh-length white leggings, and a pair of low-heeled black dress-shoes. The top three buttons of her blouse were undone, showing a generous amount of cleavage from her surprisingly large breasts.

Standing threateningly across from the four was a trio of students.

The leader of the other trio was a young man who wore a black tuque with the "Ore" kanji (which is a distinctly masculine and sometimes vulgar way of referring to oneself; the backwards kanji also stands for battle). He wore a blue crop-top vest with white lining underneath a floor-length white jacket, though it lacked sleeves and the red crosses it originally had. He had baggy, aubergine colored pants, with the legs tucked into black combat boots with light blue laces. The young man's eyes are blue-green and his hair, partially visible under his hat, is blond, and he had a scar going across his forehead and nose.

The second member of the trio was a young woman. She wore a blue sleeveless jacket and Capri pants. Her pants had irregularly placed pockets: one on her right thigh and one on her lower left leg. Her hair was roughly jaw-length and a light steel blue color, while her eyes appeared to be red or reddish brown. Her left eye was covered by her long bangs. She wore shoes of the same color as her hair that somewhat resemble Crocs.

The last member of the trio was a young man with tan skin and short black hair, somewhat shorter than in his original appearance, albeit with longer sideburns. For his age he is tall and very muscular. His clothes now consist of an orange tank top and baggy dark sweatpants over wide shoes, giving him the look of a basketball player. Around his neck, he wears a thunderbolt necklace as homage to his name's origin and his elemental affinity in his original appearance. His orange tank top also sports two thunderbolts on the upper back near the arms. The number 8 on his pants may be a reference to the _Final Fantasy_ installment he appeared in.

All three of them had a badge that marked them as members of the infamous Kingdom Hearts Academy Disciplinary Committee!

"Oh, you hear that? He said that he didn't see me." said the guy in the trench coat.

"It's not real smart to go bumping into the Seifer Almasy, y'know!" said the tan skinned oaf.

"Foolish." said the stoic looking young woman.

"Please! My brother's sorry for bumping into you! It won't happen again... Honest!" the blue-gray-haired girl said as she stood between the brown haired boy and Seifer.

"Oh, it won't. I'll make sure of that." Seifer said threateningly as he popped his knuckles. An excited smirk plastered onto his face.

"W-what do you plan to do?" the blue-gray-haired girl asked not moving from her place due to a mixture of fear and the desire to protect her brother.

"We're going to make an example out of you four. That way people will know not to mess with the disciplinary committee!" the blond said as he put his hands on his hips.

"Listen... We don't want to fight you guys." the brown-haired boy said as he stood up. "If you let us go on our way then we'll forget this ever happened. Alright?" he said as he held his hands up in a placating manner.

"Is that so? Fujin, Will you show them how we do things around here?" the blond asked as he looked at the steel-blue-haired girl.

"Affirmative." Fujin said in her normal monotone before she walked forward and punched the blue-gray-haired girl in the face.

With a cry of pain the bluenette fell to the floor.

"Celia!" the brunet, the silvernette, and the redhead shouted in shock.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile in the crowd Karly was a little shocked by the brutality of the academy's so called protectors.<p>

"Little bastards!" Lea muttered with venom in his voice.

"What's their deal anyways?" Karly asked as she looked at her red-headed friend.

"Humph, the Kingdom Hearts Academy Disciplinary Committee are nothing but a bunch of thugs masquerading as law enforcement. They claim that they're protecting the student body but all they're doing is causing trouble for all of us." he said as he scratched the back of his neck.

"Someone should put those guys in their place." the brunette muttered as she glared at the blond a-hole from the disciplinary committee.

"Don't even try it Karly." Lea said warningly. "Anyone who goes up against the disciplinary committee ends up disappearing without a trace." he said with a far off look in his eye. Most likely remembering a few friends that had vanished without a trace.

Karly looked as if she wanted to object, but a look from Lea kept her from charging in.

* * *

><p>Back with the "disciplinary committee" things did not look like they were getting better.<p>

"How dare you hurt my sister!" the brown-haired boy growled at the trio in front of him. All thoughts of avoiding conflict gone.

"Oh, what's wrong? The chicken wuss gonna cry?" Seifer said mockingly before he and his posse started laughing.

"You'll pay for hurting my friend!" the white-haired girl growled threateningly.

"Oh, yeah? And what are _you_ going to do about it, skank?" the blond said mockingly before he gazed lecherously at the heterochromatic girl's ample chest. "Actually... Why don't you and your little friend here ditch these two losers and come with me? I'm sure that the boys back at HQ will show you two a _very_ good time." he said with a sick smirk on his face.

"Ugh, you perverted little pig!" the finely dressed girl shouted in rage.

Before anymore could be said or done a soda can flew through the air and struck Seifer in the face.

"Argh! Alright! Who has the balls?!" the disciplinary committee member shouted in rage.

"You know..." a calm female voice said as its owner walked towards the group. "You shouldn't really mention rape out in public. It will _not_ end well for you." the girl said with a cold fury that only a woman can produce. The voice's owner was none other than Karly. And she looked pissed off all the way to high heaven.

The brunette could feel the lecherous stares of most of the men in the crowd on her. But she didn't really care about that. She had a figure most women would die for. She had a perfect hourglass figure with a nice firm rear and large D cup breasts that seemed to be slightly larger than the white-haired girl, give or take an inch or two.

"Who the hell are you?!" the scarred teen shouted in rage as the girl walked in between the two groups.

"The name's Karly. And that starts with the letter K. You know... Normally I wouldn't really care about other people's business." she said as she moved a few stray strands of hair away from her face. But if you plan on having these two get gang raped by your band of thugs... Well, you got another thing coming!" she shouted as she drew her sword and took a battle stance. (Titano Man XIII: Think Aqua's stance.) Karly's sword was a gold colored broadsword with several chips and scratches on it, showing that it had been through many battles.

Lea then ran up and stood next to Karly. "You must have a death wish. Nobody stand against the disciplinary committee and gets away with it." he said as he looked at the irate blond in front of him.

"Well _someone_ has to teach these jerks a lesson." the brunette said with determination.

The pyromancer sighed. "Alright. But don't come crying to me when you get your ass handed to you." he said before spreading his legs apart and sticking his arms out to the side with his head bowed.

A moment later a large amount of fire appeared from out of nowhere and began to swirl around the redhead. The flames began to pool together into his open outstretched palms and, like Demyx's sitar, began to take shape and solidify. The fire had transformed into two spiked silver and red chakrams. The red-haired man then raised his head and a cocky smirk was stretched across his face along with a fiery look in his eyes.

The redhead then took his trademarked battle stance and began to swing the chakram in his right hand back and forth lazily with his fingers.

Karly simply rolled her eyes. "Show off." she muttered before looking back at the four students that were behind her. "You guys alright?" she asked with steeliness in her voice and eyes that wasn't present before.

The brown-haired young man nodded. "Yeah, we are. Thanks to you." he said as he helped his sister stand up.

"Why did you help us?" asked the finely dressed girl.

"Like I said... Someone has to put theses jerks in their place." Karly said as she looked back at the disciplinary committee.

"Not alone you're not." the brunet said as he stood next to Karly.

"Yeah! No one messes with us and gets away with it!" the red-haired boy said as he stood next to his friend.

"I have to show this arrogant jerk that I won't become some meager little sex slave for him and his cronies." the heterochromatic eyed young woman said as she stood next to the redhead.

"You guys are welcome to join in. But what do you guys have to fight with?" Karly asked with mild interest.

"Watch." the brown-haired young man said as he threw his right arm out.

A moment later dark energy began to swirl around him. The darkness began to collect into his outstretched palm and take shape. The dark energy solidified and turned into an odd sword that vaguely resembled a skeleton key. It was the legendary Keyblade!

It was a long Keyblade that appeared chipped and very asymmetrical in its design. The handle was smooth and red-orange and was surrounded by a roughly rectangular guard. The guard was predominantly black, though it faded into dark red toward the base of the blade, and had uneven, chipped spikes on each of its corners. The shaft of the blade was black with a faded bronze border along its edges, which were lined with prominent chips. The head of the blade was decorated by several chipped and oddly-shaped red-orange spikes with black tips, which also form the teeth. An eye of darkness was also set in the head of the blade. The Keychain token was a blue jewel and resembles a heavily simplified version of the Darkgnaw Keychain. The Keyblade's overall design bears a resemblance to both the Darkgnaw and the Ends of the Earth Keyblades. This was the legendary Chaos Reaper Keyblade! (I prefer Reaper to Ripper.)

The brunet twirled the blade through the air with a flourish before settling into a battle stance. (An altered version of Riku's stance where he has his left hand wrapped loosely around the handle.)

"Is that a...?" Lea asked trailing off in shock.

"Yeah, it is." replied the redhead. "Guess what! He's not the only one!" he said as he held out his right hand in front of him and light began to literally condense into his open palm. The light then transformed into a Keyblade!

The Keyblade's handle was pale green and was surrounded completely by the guard, which was red. Each side of the guard sported two spikes that pointed diagonally downward. The shaft of the Keyblade had concave edges and ended in a point. The shaft was red orange at its base and gradually lightened in color the further up it was on the blade. On the tip of the shaft was a large, silver, "X" shaped charm shaped like the upper half of the nobody symbol. This charm was the only thing that connected the teeth of the Keyblade to the rest of the weapon. The teeth were formed by a black, circular arc lined with spikes. The Keychain token was a black disk lined with spikes, much like the teeth of the Keyblade. This Keyblade was known as the Twilight Blaze.

"Okay. I _so_ didn't see that one coming." Lea said in bemusement.

"You were impressed by such unimpressive weapon summonings? I'll show you what a _real_ weapon summoning is like!" the white-haired young woman said as she raised her right arm into the air.

The lighting suddenly dimmed considerably, which was odd since it was a clear and sunny day, as a spotlight show down on the girl. Suddenly a small flurry of blue rose petals slowly fell to the ground around her. Everyone (save Seifer and his posse) was mesmerized by the beautiful display. One of the blue petals landed in her open, outstretched palm and she quickly crushed it in her grasp. The action caused a light to burst forth and take shape. Within moments the light had turned into a Keyblade.

The Keyblade's handguard is designed to look like stained glass. The blade is made of a purple material with a blue rose design, resembling Beast's rose in the purple glass bell, and the bloom of the blue rose serves as the blade's teeth. The Keyblade's rainguard is designed to resemble the thorny leaves of a rose bush. The Keychain consists of a slim chain, with a blue rose as its token. This Keyblade was known as the Divine Blue Rose. She twirled the blade with a flourish before settling into her battle stance. (Think Lightning's stance)

'_Cosmos! Is everyone a showoff?!_' Karly thought in irritation before sighing and shaking it off. "Hey! Before we start fighting these jerks... Can I at least know your names?" she asked as she looked to the trio.

"Sure. I am Aeros Zoromaki. The Grim Reaper of Darkness!" the brown-haired boy said in a formal tone though he didn't take his eyes off of his opponents.

"I'm Ignis Bravehart. The Paladin of Light!" said the redhead.

"And I am Kokoro Buru. A powerful Dhampir and loyal servant to the great Rachel Alucard!" said the Dhampir. In fact, if you look closely enough then you could see a pair of vampire fangs slightly poking out from her lips.

"Nice to meet you." said Karly.

"As impressive and time consuming that was..." Seifer started as he gave the group a few slow mocking claps. "Let's get this little farce over with. After all..." he summoned his trademarked gunblade. "I'm a very busy guy." he said as he took up his battle stance.

Fujin and Raijin also summoned their weapons and took their respective battle stances.

Celia quickly ran into the crowd in order to avoid the coming battle.

The screen suddenly did that cool phase-out thing that happens whenever you have a Random Encounter or a Boss Battle in any RPG game (But mostly I'm thinking about the ones from Final Fantasy).

* * *

><p><span><strong>Play Final Fantasy VIII OST- Force Your Way<strong>

**Boss Battle: Versus Seifer, Fujin, and Raijin!**

**Tip: Block their attacks so you can find an opening!**

Karly kicked things off by dashing forward and locking blades with Seifer.

"You're all mine ass hole!" Karly growled as sparks came off of their grinding blades.

"Don't worry babe. There's enough of me to go around." the blonde said with a smirk.

Lea tried to assist the impatient brunette but before he could reach his friend he had to jump back in order to avoid a blast of condensed air from Fujin.

"That girl will be trouble if we don't deal with her right now!" Aeros said as he looked at the girl.

"Right." Said Ignis. "How about me and the pyromaniac over here take care of her while you and Kokoro take care of tall, dark, and stupid over there." he said as he looked at his best friend.

"Alright." Aeros said with a nod. "Come on Kokoro." he said as he turned to face Raijin.

"Actually..." started the Dhampir. "I would prefer it if I fought against their leader." she said as she glared at the man who was clashing blades with Karly.

The brown-haired teen sighed. "Alright. But be careful." he said with a concern in his eye. He knew better than to argue with his friend on these types of matters.

"Don't worry I'll be fine." she said before she dashed towards where Karly and Seifer were battling.

Aeros kept his gaze on the white-haired girl before going off to battle his respective opponent.

Ignis was about to charge in when Lea stopped him.

"Hey kid!" Lea said grabbing the boy's attention. "The name's Lea! Commit it to memory!" he said in an annoyed voice as he tapped his right temple with his fingers.

"Got it. Sorry." the Paladin of Light said sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head.

With that, the two charged off towards battle.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile Karly was dodging many of Seifer's attacks.<p>

"Stay still!" the blonde said in irritation.

"Hmm... Nah!" the brunette said nonchalantly as she jumped back avoiding another slash from the gunblade wielder.

Just then Seifer jumped back to avoid a slash from Kokoro's Keyblade.

"Need a hand?" the well-dressed girl asked with a seductive smile as she moved a stray strand of hair from her face. Though the white-haired Dhampir never took her eyes off from the disciplinary committee member Karly knew that the question was addressed to her.

"Not really. I had everything under control." the brunette said as she closed her eyes and turned her head to the side with a huff.

Kokoro turned her head to the side to look at the girl next to her. The young servant of the Alucard House had an amused smirk on her face. "But you have yet to land a single blow on your opponent." she said as she placed her left hand on her hip.

"S-shut up!" Karly said in irritation as she glared at the white-haired swordswoman with a blush on her face.

Kokoro couldn't help but giggle at the girl's reaction. "Relax. I'm just teasing you a little." she said as her giggling subsided. "I know you were only gauging his level of power." she said she stabbed her Keyblade into the ground and stretched her arms above her head. Which caused her large breasts to bounce a little. This action caused many of the more perverted members of the crowd to holler and call out praises to the beautiful Dhampir. She ignored the rabble-rousers and focused on her opponent as she crossed her arms under her impressive bust. "Karly was it?" she asked as she glanced at the brunette.

Karly nodded in confirmation.

"I think it's time we put this boy in his place, ne?" the silvernette said as she pulled her blade out of the ground and reassumed her battle stance.

Karly smirked. "De quoi shimashita. Watashitashi ga hontuoni natte iru kono baka wo miseyo u! (Agreed. Let's show this idiot what we're really made of!)" she said as she cracked her knuckles. Aside from a slight accent in her voice, she almost sounded like she was from Japan.

Kokoro looked very impressed. "Wateshiha kanmei wo uke ta. Anata ha hiji youni ryuichi youni nihongo o hanashimasu. (I am impressed. You speak Japanese very fluently.)" she said with a smirk.

The brunette put her hands on her hips with a cheeky grin on her face. "Naze, hai. Hai koto da geki masu. Shikashi 'genjiten da ha mondaide ha nai desu. Imawanewareni taishu saru saru wo matte imasu. (Why, yes. Yes I can. But that doesn't matter at the moment. Right now we have an ape to deal with.)" she said as she reassumed her battle stance.

"Right." the heterochromatic girl said and both she and Karly charged at the blond.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile Fujin was living up to her name by throwing out wind spells left, right, and center.<p>

"How is that girl casting so many powerful spells without getting tired?" Ignis said as he dodged an aero spell.

"Not sure. Either she has an affinity for wind... or she's drawing power from a creature that has power over the wind." Lea said as he launched a flaming chakram at the girl which she blocked with her own chakram.

"You think she has a summon?" the younger redhead asked as he launched a fire spell at Fujin.

The steel-blue-haired girl sidestepped the fireball. "AEROA!" she shouted as she sent a more powered up version of the aero spell at the pair of redheads.

Both men were able to dodge the spell.

"Most likely. But it's against school policy for freshmen to have summons equipped on campus. But then again, the disciplinary committee doesn't always follow the rules." said as he threw both of his chakrams, which were coated in fire, at the girl.

The mostly mute girl dodged the attack though she had received a nick on her arm. Due to Lea's chakrams being covered in fire, the injury was instantly cauterized.

The girl winced slightly from the pain of being burned.

"I guess that means that we'll have to take care of that summon before we can beat her." Ignis said as he launched a fire spell at Fujin.

The steel-blue- haired girl dodged the spell.

"I'll handle the summon problem. You focus on landing a hit on her." Lea said as he ran at the girl with chakrams in hand.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile Aeros was holding his own against Raijin. And by holding his own I mean beating the ever-loving crap out of him.<p>

"You know, I thought you would be a bigger challenge. But it appears that I was mistaken." Aeros said as he finished a particularly devastating combo on the muscle head.

"Grr. I'll teach you not to mess with the disciplinary committee y'know!" the tanned teen growled as he shook off the damage and went in for another attack.

"Why don't you just chill out." the brunet said as he pointed his Keyblade at Raijin. "Blizzara!" he shouted as ice shot out of the tip of the blade and struck Rai. Freezing the disciplinary committee member in a block of ice.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile Karly and Kokoro were putting the beat-down on Seifer while doing a bit of showing off for the crowd via acrobatic feats and flourishing their weapons.<p>

"What's wrong? Is that all you got?" Karly asked mockingly to a panting and irate Seifer.

"That's it! I've had enough of you two!" he shouted in rage. He pointed his free hand at the two women. "Kneel!"

Karly and Kokoro suddenly found themselves pulled to the ground by a powerful unseen force and felt about twenty-five percent of their current HP being drained away.

Both girls were on their hands and knees fighting against the immense pressure.

'_W-what the hell?! Why is it so hard to get up?!_' she thought as she fought to stand up.

'_How in the world was he able to pull off a Gravija spell at his level?!_' Kokoro though as she looked at the blond before her.

"What's wrong? Is that all you got?" he said mockingly.

Karly and Kokoro glared at the teen who enveloped himself in the red-ish aura of a bravery spell before walking to them. "How do you girls like my Gravija spell?" he asked with a smirk.

"How are you able to use that spell?" Kokoro asked in a strained voice.

"Heh, it was a cinch to master thanks to this little guy." he said as he held up a small glowing stone.

Kokoro gasped in shock while Karly just gave a blank look.

"A shiny rock?" asked the brunette.

The leader of the freshmen division of the school disciplinary committee scoffed. "Shows what you know. This here's a Summon stone. Not only can I use it to summon a powerful monster, but I can also use that monster's power whenever I want." the blond explained as he pocketed the stone. "Now... Let's see what kind of fun the three of us can have." he said with a dark smirk on his face.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile Ignis and Lea were giving Fujin the hotfoot. (*Facepalms* I can't believe I wrote that.)<p>

The steel-blue-haired haired girl was forced to dodge many of the swipes from their weapons and the spells they casted at her, which left her with many cuts and burns on her body.

"You know I don't really like fighting girls. Especially ones that looks cute too. We can stop fighting. I won't hold you and your friends attacking us against you." Ignis said as he tried to reason with the girl.

Fujin blushed slightly at the compliment. She even seemed to consider the offer.

Lea capitalized on the girl's hesitation and rushed towards her.

The girl couldn't react in time before the pyromancer gave a swift chop to the back of her neck, knocking her out.

The red-haired Keyblade wielder quickly caught her before she hit the ground.

"You didn't have to knock her out." Ignis said as he laid Fujin down.

"It's nothing personal. I was just helping a friend." Lea said with a shrug.

"I understand what you mean." Ignis said with a sigh. "I'm sorry about knocking you out. I hope we can be friends after this." he said to the unconscious girl.

"You'd want to be friends with a member of the Disciplinary Committee?" Lea asked in confusion.

"Why not? I can tell that she's a good person." the Keyblade wielder said defending the girl.

"Whatever. Just don't came crying to me when she stabs you in the back." the pyromancer said with a shrug.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile Raijin broke out of his icy prison and began attacking Aeros.<p>

The brunet easily dodged the attacks and struck whenever he found an opening. He then launched a black fire spell at the tanned teen. The fireball hit its mark, causing Raijin to stagger.

Aeros took his chance and made unleashed a powerful combo on the teen, causing severe amounts of damage.

Raijin now wobbled back and forth on his feet, barely able to stand.

The dark Keyblade wielder simply walked up to him and pushed his forehead with his fingers, causing him to fall backwards onto the ground and pass out.

"Too easy." Aeros said with a yawn.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile Karly and Kokoro were having trouble dealing with Siefer. The jerk was currently beating them to an inch of their lives, though it was on Karly more than it was on Kokoro. And thanks to the Bravery spell he had casted on himself, his hits felt like they were being hit by a sledgehammer.<p>

The brunette was sent flying into the white-haired girl and they both went crashing to the ground.

'_Okay, gotta hand it to him... He knows how to throw a killer right hook._' she thought as she checked to see if her jaw was broken.

She then felt someone help her up. It was Lea!

"How's it going?" he asked casually.

"Oh you know, same old, same old." Karly said as she dusted herself off.

Just then Aeros and Ignis arrived just as Kokoro stood up.

"You guys alright?" asked Aeros.

"A little bruised, but otherwise just fine." Kokoro said as she gracefully fixed her hair.

"Let me help." Ignis said as he used a cure spell on the two girls.

Any pain the two felt instantly vanished.

"Thanks." the brunette said with a nod.

"No problem. Now let's take this guy down together!" the redhead said as he got into his battle stance. (Think Sora's)

"Right!" everyone else said in agreement as they did the same.

"You losers think you can beat me?! In your dreams! I'm the freaking captain of the freshmen division of the disciplinary committee!" Seifer said arrogantly. "I'll send you all back home crying to your mommies!" he said as he entered his battle stance.

Lea charged in first with his chakrams ablaze. Aeros, Ignis, and Karly followed with Kokoro supporting them with her magic.

Lea threw the chakram in his left hand at the blond, but it was deflected by said blond's sword. He attempted to slash him with his remaining weapon, but Seifer blocked it with his sword.

Aeros and Ignis saw the gap in Seifers defense and struck at him. The two hit the captain with a joint combo that did twice the damage.

The two Keyblade wielders jumped back to let Karly through to deliver her own set of combos.

When said combos were completed a large swarm of fire, thunder, and blizzard spells rained down on the blond, courtesy of Aeros, Ignis, Kokoro, and Lea.

The relentless amount of attacks ended up making Seifer stagger.

Karly took this opportunity and launched the teen into the air with a fierce uppercut.

Aeros, Ignis, and Karly then jumped into the air and assailed him with an endless amount of attack while Kokoro and Lea kept him airborne with their magic.

Just as Seifer was about to recover from his stagger, Karly unleashed a particularly devastating combo on the gunblade wielder. The combo ended with the brunette sending the bastard rocketing to the ground.

Seifer stood up shakily from the ground.

"Give up. You're outclassed." Aeros said as he pointed his Chaos Reaper at the teen.

"Like hell I will!" he said just before a large amount of power suddenly burst from his body and enveloped him in an aura of light. "This time... I'm pulling out all the stops!" he said as he re-entered his battle stance.

"What the hell?! What just happened?!" asked Karly.

"Damn. He entered Ex-Mode." Aeros said as he grit his teeth.

"All your stats are doubled and you regain lost vitality." Kokoro explained for those who didn't know what Ex-Mode was. (*cough* Demyx! *cough*)

"It's especially bad when you're staggered." said Ignis.

"And what's worse is that he can now use his finishing move." Lea said with slight worry.

"Then let's kick his ass before he can use it!" Karly said as she entered his battle stance.

"Agreed. But we should do it at full strength." Aeros said as he began charging up his power.

"Right!" Ignis and and Kokoro said as they did the same.

"What're you guys-"

Suddenly an insane amount of power erupted from the trio.

When it died down Aeros was enveloped in an aura of black electricity, Ignis, in white flames, and Kokoro had a crimson aura with blue rose petals floating around her.

All three of them had entered Ex-Mode!

"Hey, don't start this party without me yet!" Lea said as light erupted from him. When it died down he was covered in an aura of orange flames. He too had entered Ex-Mode.

Karly felt a little left out since she couldn't use Ex-Mode at the moment. Something about not being at the right level yet or something.

"Down feel left out Karly. You can still kick plenty of ass!" the pyromancer said supportively.

"Damn right I can!" she said fiercely.

"Now that we're all prepared..." Lea said before popping the joints in his neck by snapping his neck to the side. "LET'S ROCK!" he said all fired up.

"Rock Calihan fan?" Asked Ignis.

"You know it." said Lea.

"Go!" Aeros said and the party rushed in intent to end the battle.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile in the crowd, Myde saw Lea's little neck trick and thought it looked pretty stress relieving.<p>

"Man that looked good. I always get these cricks in my neck that I can't really- Aaaarg!" He cried out in pain as he snapped his neck to the side too fast and got it stuck. Sigh... Poor Myde.

**Demyx Owned:** 2

* * *

><p>Back at the fight, everyone was giving it their all against Seifer.<p>

"Ha! Is that all you got?! Pathetic!" he said as he dodged a swipe from Aeros' Keyblade. "Time to end this! Cross Fla- huh?" he said as someone suddenly tapped him on the shoulder. He looked behind himself mere moments before a fist from Karly was introduced to his face.

The sudden attack caused the teen to stagger.

This was their chance!

Lea made the first move and used his finisher.

He gathered up massive amounts of fire and coated his chakrams with it. He then threw his flying wheels of fiery death at the blonde several times. Each time creating an explosion bigger than the last until he was ready to finish it. "Time for the show stopper." He said as he threw both of his chakrams at the teen. The weapons spun around him fast enough to create a ring of fire around him. "Bye-bye." the pyromaniac said as he snapped his fingers. The ring then exploded into a massive pillar of fire!

The fire died down to reveal a heavily burned, but still alive Seifer.

Kokoro didn't want to give the blond a chance to recover, and as such activated her finisher.

"Ultima Rosa: Blue!" the Dhampir shouted as she activated her ultimate attack.

She suddenly appeared in front of the gunblade wielder and unleashed a series of swift slashes with her Keyblade. She then back-dashed away and unleashed volley after volley of magic spells. When she finished she then created a tornado made of blue rose petals and launched Seifer into the air. "Be awed by the beauty of the ultimate magic!" she said as she pointed her Keyblade at the teen. "Ultima." she whispered as a giant sphere of light engulfed the disciplinary committee member and exploded.

Ignis then made his move.

Six wings of light sprouted from his back as he jumped into the air. "Let's go!" he said as his Keyblade became enveloped in white flames. He began slashing at Seifer faster than anyone can keep up. He then appeared above the blonde and the Twilight Blaze transformed into a large cannon. "I'm a firin' my lazor! Holy Cannon!" he shouted as a blast of condensed light shot out of the cannons mouth and at Seifer. The blast sent the teen to the ground and it created a massive explosion.

Aeros then went in to make the finishing move.

"Witness true darkness!" he said as he and Seifer were encased in a field of pure darkness.

Within the field Aeros slashed away at the teen at all possible angles before backing off and creating thousands of azure spears made of pure electricity. "Impale him." he said as all of the spears launched at once and struck him before exploding. Finally Aeros appeared before the blonde dressed as Death himself, his eyes glowing crimson from beneath the shadows of the hood. He then pointed his hand at the captain and then everything went dark. Aeros now stood outside the dark field his back to the dark globe and snapped his fingers. The field then exploded violently, sending tremors all across the school grounds from the sheer amount of force it exuded. The explosion also made him look really bad ass.

The smoke cleared to reveal Seifer on leaning on his knees panting heavily.

"Is... that... it...?" he asked as he struggled to stay standing.

"Just shut up." Karly said now standing in front of the captain. She then delivered a punch to the jerks face free of charge.

The blond then fell to the ground unconscious.

Karly sheathed her sword and patted the dirt off of her hands.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Play Final Fantasy VIII OST- The Winner<strong>

**Received:** 5 Hi-Potions

**Karly leveled up!**

**HP up**

**Strength up**

**MP up**

**Karly can now use Ex-Mode!**

**Aeros leveled up!**

**HP up**

**Strength up**

**MP up**

**Kokoro leveled up!**

**HP up**

**Strength up**

**Magic up**

**Ignis leveled up!**

**HP up**

**Strength up**

**MP up**

**Lea leveled up!**

**HP up**

**Strength up**

**MP up**

**End Theme**

* * *

><p>"Well that was anticlimactic." Lea said as his chakrams dissipated into embers.<p>

"Hey, a win's a win." Karly said with a shrug.

"Aeros! Ignis! You guys were awesome!" the blue-gray-haired girl from earlier said as she ran up to the two boys and hugged them both tightly.

"Haha. Thanks." Ignis said with a grin. Ignis' Keyblade dissipated into white embers and small balls of light.

"We weren't that special." Aeros said as he scratched the back of his head. His Keyblade dissipated into black sparks and dark wisps of smoke.

"Hey, what about me?" Kokoro said with a pout.

The girl giggled. "You were awesome too Kokoro!" she said with a smile.

"Thank you." the white-haired Dhampir said with a smile.

"What am I? Chopped liver?" Lea said as he crossed his arms.

"You were pretty cool too I guess." she said with a shrug.

"Oh, stop you're making me blush." the pyromaniac said sarcastically as he rolled his eyes.

"Thank you for helping us Ms..." the blue-gray-haired girl said in a thankful tone though she trailed off so she could hear the brunette's name.

"Name's Karly. That starts with a K." said Karly. "What's yours?" she asked the girl.

"My name is Celia Zoromaki." the girl said with a smile.

"Nice to meet you. And you're welcome, but my assistance doesn't come cheap!" she said with a smirk. "That'll be one hundred gil!" she said as she held her hand out. Though it was hard to tell whether she was kidding or not since she was smiling while she had her hand out.

"Just ignore her." Lea said as he pushed her hand away.

She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Try not to get in trouble, okay? there are a lot of people here, like the disciplinary committee, who aren't very fond of foreigners. So try not to get on their bad side. Got it memorized?" the pyromancer said as he tapped his temple.

"Got it! And don't worry, we'll try to stay out of trouble next time." Celia said with a nod.

Just then Myde walked up to the group with a large sack of gil in his hand, apparently he had been making bets on who would win the fight, and apparently he won them all also. But his head was still in an awkward position.

**Play Final Fantasy VIII OST- Balamb Garden**

"Oh, man guys! That was totally awesome!" the musician said excitedly.

"Whoa, Demyx. What happened to you?" Karly asked as she looked at the blond.

"Oh, well you see... There were like, a hundred ninjas that came out nowhere and-"

"You tried cracking your neck and it got stuck, didn't it?" asked Ignis.

"Yeah. Uh, little help?" he asked gesturing to his neck.

"Allow me." Kokoro said as she walked to the blond.

With a swift jerk, Kokoro moved Myde's head back into place.

"Yeowch- oh, hey that feels a lot better. Thanks!" the aquamancer said with a thumbs up.

"No problem." said the Dampir.

Just then, a group of students came out of nowhere and surrounded our heroine and her party members. They all carried the mark of the academy's disciplinary committee.

**Play Final Fantasy VII OST- Turks Theme**

Karly, Lea, Aeros, Ignis, and Kokoro all took defensive stances while Celia hid behind Ignis and Myde put his hands up into the air in an act of surrender.

But before anymore fighting could break out, a young man's voice rang out.

"Stand down." said the voice.

The disciplinary committee members immediately cleared a path for the owner of the voice.

Within a few moments a young man around the age of sixteen with short messy black hair that somehow looked good on him, and piercing blood red eyes walked into view. His attire was something akin to the bad-ass bad-boy archetype. He wore a skintight black muscle-shirt with the punisher logo on the front. The shirt hugged his body and showed off his well-developed muscles. He wore deep black trousers that had many pouches along the legs with the bottom hem was badly frayed. He wore a pair of black combat boots with red rubber soles and linings. He had a black trench coat with red linings and the kanji for demon on the left shoulder in red. The inside of the coat was a deep scarlet color and the sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. He had black 'rock star' gloves with red studs on the knuckles. And to complete the look he had a long double edged broadsword with a red blade and a black hilt strapped to his back.

Loud rock music was blaring out of his ear buds as he walked up to the group.

But before anyone could say anything, he held up his finger in a 'wait a minute' gesture before pausing his music just as the song ended and removing his ear buds, which were red.

"You kids certainly caused quite the bit of trouble here today." he said with a sort of laid back smile on his face.

He looked over the group before him, taking in their appearances. His eyes lingered on Karly for a few moments before looking at the group as a whole.

The teen in black glanced at the unconscious forms of Seifer, Fujin, and Raijin before settling back onto the heroes.

"You did this?" he said referring to the three knocked out Disciplinary committee members nearby.

"Maybe." Karly said with a glare. She didn't like the vibe coming off this guy.

"What a pity." the disciplinary committee member said with a sigh.

"What?" Karly asked in confusion though she was still on guard.

"It seems I made a poor choice when I picked the captain of the freshmen division." the teen said with a shake of his head. "Looks like I'll have to find someone more suitable." he said as he ran a hand through his messy obsidian locks. "Eh, live and learn as they always say." he said with a shrug.

'_This guy's so laid back! Is he really a member of the disciplinary committee?_' Karly thought as she looked at the laid back teen.

"Well I guess we should clean up this mess. Alright boys. Get to it." he said with a snap of his fingers.

As soon as that command was given all of the disciplinary members picked up Seifer, Fuu, and Rai, and left.

Only the black-clad teen remained.

**End Theme**

"You kids better get going. Classes are going to start soon." he said before he turned around and started walking away. "Oh and..." He looked back at them. "Please try to stay out of trouble. I know you don't want to see me again." he said before he flashed them a smile and walked away.

"Thank Cosmos." Lea said as he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Axel... Who was that guy?" Karly asked shaken up. The way that guy stared at her. It was like he was a predator stalking his prey. And she was that prey. She would honestly admit that she would never, _ever_ want to meet that man again.

"That's a guy you never want to get pissed off. They call him the Demon of Kingdom Hearts Academy." Lea said as he stared in the direction the one they called the Demon of KHA went. "Let's get going." the redhead said as he started walking towards the school. Myde running right after him.

Karly followed her friend after saying goodbye to Aeros and his friends.

She somehow couldn't shake the feeling that things were about to get real soon. And she didn't like that.

* * *

><p><span><strong>With Xion<strong>

**Play Final Fantasy VIII OST- Balamb Garden**

Xion had arrived at the academy with Terra some time ago. When they got there, a fight was occurring in the middle of the foregrounds. So they wisely avoided the fight area and entered the school. After getting their respective homeroom numbers the two separated after making some plans to have lunch together at some point.

As she walked the halls she couldn't help but remember that odd encounter she had before entering the main office.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Flashback!<strong>

After entering the building, Terra and Xion ran into a problem.

"They had no idea where the main office if.

"I think it's this way." Terra said as she pointed down one hallway.

"Are you sure? Because I think it's this way." Xion said as she pointed down another hallway.

At this rate they're going to be here all day.

"Why don't we just use the map?" the Esperkin asked as she pulled out a map of the building.

"Good idea!" the ravenette said with a smile.

Unfortunately the map was too complicated to make heads or tails of.

"Umm, why don't we just pick a hallway and follow it?" Xion said with a sheepish smile.

"Right." Terra said as she put away the map.

The girls picked a hallway and walked down it.

* * *

><p>After several minutes of traversing various hallways, with a couple of them defying the laws of physics and others just plain not making any sense. One was even under water!<p>

"On second thought, this might not have been the best idea." Xion said as the two of them found themselves back at the academy's main foyer.

"I agree." Terra said as she took off one of her boots and poured out the sand that accumulated in it. How is it even possible for an entire hallway to be a massive dessert with a bunch of doors standing on their own to even fit inside of the school?! It even had its own sun glaring down on it!

"Hey little ladies! You two lost?" a man who was standing behind the two asked in concern.

"Uh yeah, do you think you can help... us?" Xion said as she turned around to look at the man only to trail off when she saw the man's size.

The man in question was quite tall and seemed to have taken a page from the cool and incomprehensible hero archetype. He was swarthy and muscle-bound with a golden tan, sporting black sunglasses that hid his blue eyes from view, and a large golden afro. He wore a short sleeved blue jacket with puffed out shoulders that exposes his well-toned abs, a necklace with the letter H on it, long, dark blue jeans with frayed cuffs, and a pair brown boots.

The blond easily towered over the two girls.

"Uh, hi." Xion said awed by the man's size while Terra just gaped in awe.

"Yo!" he greeted with a wave. "My name's Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo! But you can call me Bo-bobo." said the man.

"Nice to meet you Mr. Bo-bobo. Do you, umm, work here?" asked Terra.

"Yep! I'm the janitor!" the blonde said proudly.

"That's nice to hear Bo-bobo. Do you think you can tell us how to get to the main office? We need to get our class schedules." Xion said as she looked around the area.

"Sure thing!" he then pulled out a little remote control device with a big red button on it. He pushed the button and a trapdoor suddenly opened up under Xion and Terra's feet.

"Meep..." the ravenette said fearfully as she and the Esperkin hugged each other before falling through the floor screaming.

The trapdoor closed and left no indication that it was ever there to begin with.

Bo-bobo then out the switch away before reaching into an afro and pulling out a mop.

He walked off while whistling a jaunty little tune.

* * *

><p>A few moments later a trapdoor that looked Bo-bobo's face opened up in the ceiling and Xion and Terra fell to the floor.<p>

The door then disappeared without a trace.

"Ugh, what happened?" Xion asked as she held her head.

"I think we fell through a trapdoor." Terra said as she rubbed her rear.

The two looked up and saw they were in a spacious white hall-way with a greco-roman design with a bright skylight on the roof.

"Wait... Are we on the fifth floor?" the Keyblade wielder asked as she looked around with an incredulous expression on her face.

"That's impossible! We were on the first floor!" the green-haired girl said in disbelief.

"Are you two looking for the main office?" a male voice asked from nearby.

Both girls looked to where the voice came from and saw a man that was physically in his late twenties, and stood roughly six feet tall. He had crimson eyes and long black hair. He wore a red bandanna with his fringe emerging over it. the man's most distinctive feature was his red cloak, held in place over his shoulders and lower face by several buckles. Underneath his cape his attire was black with several straps and buckles. He wore a holster for his gun against his right leg, and pointed sabatons on his feet. He wore a golden gauntlet on his left arm.

"Umm, yes we are." replied Xion.

"Then you might want to look down there." Vincent said as he pointed down the hall at a pair of intricately designed double doors before walking away.

"Oh, thanks!" she said after she and Terra looked at the doors before turning to thank the man. But she gasped in shock when he was no longer in view despite the hallway being long and almost completely white.

'_Who was that man?_' the ravenette thought as she stared off in the direction the man went.

They quickly got their schedules and left the main office.

Soon after that the two had to separate from each other since their homerooms were in different rooms.

And after wandering through a few more reality bending hallways, Xion finally reached were she finally was before this flashback started.

**Flashback End!**

* * *

><p>'<em>Well, here I am.<em>' the Keyblade wielder said as she stood in front of a door.

A sign above the door read class 3-B.

'_Well, it's now or never._' she thought as she opened the door and entered the room.

* * *

><p><span><strong>With Karly<strong>

Karly had been sitting in her homeroom for the past few minutes being swarmed by students who had either seen, or heard about her fight and victory over the captain of the disciplinary committee's freshmen division.

Just as she was about to pass out from claustrophobia, the door opened.

Everyone looked to the door to see a fifteen year old girl with short, jaw-length hair and deep, blue eyes, the same color as the sky. She wore a simple white tee shirt, long blue jeans, a black short sleeved jacket, and a pair of black converse sneakers.

The girl looked very nervous with everyone staring at her.

"Are you supposed to be here?" asked the homeroom teacher.

"Yes. My name is Xion Alyson Stoner." Xion said with a formal bow.

"I see. Well, pick any seat you want." the teacher said as he checked Xion's name off of the attendance sheet.

Xion made her way to an empty seat by the window, which just so happens to be next to Karly's.

She looked over at the brunette and smiled.

"Hi! My name's Xion. What's yours?" the Keyblade wielder said as she extended her hand to the girl.

"The name's Karly. It starts with a K." Karly said as she shook Xion's hand.

"Nice to meet you Karly! I hope we can become good friends." the ravenette said with a smile.

"Maybe. But I have to see if I like you first." the brunette said with a smirk.

"Well, what do you think so far?" Xion asked in curiosity. She wanted to make a good first impression.

"You're alright so far. But we'll have to see later on, won't we?" she asked smirk still in place.

"Is that a challenge?" asked the Keyblade wielder.

"Maybe..." the girl said teasingly.

Xion smirked. If this was Karly's game, then she was willing to play. '_Alright Karly. If you want to make me work for it then bring it on!_' she thought as determination flashed through her eyes.

Challenge Accepted! Operation: Become friends with Karly has begun!

**End of Chapter One!**

* * *

><p><span><strong>Author's Notes<strong>

**Play Kingdom Hearts OST- Hand in Hand**

(1)* The world of Final Fantasy XV (Formerly known as Versus XIII)

Titano Man XIII: It's finally done! I can't believe that it took me months to finish this chapter!

Naminé: Don't you work on Dark Destiny more than you do on this story?

Titano Man XIII: Yes I do. And I pray to any God that will listen that my little sister doesn't find out that I've been putting off the story she's been wanting me to write for her since my sophomore year.

Little Sis: *with a scary smile on her face* That I don't find out what?

Titano Man XIII: Eep!

Sora: What, you didn't know?

Titano Man starts making gestures behind his little sister telling Sora to shut up.

Sora: Well, he's been putting off writing this chapter for months while he worked on his own story.

Titano Man facepalms and curses Sora for his idiocy.

Little Sis: Is that so? *looks at Titano Man*

Titano man XIII: I have plenty of the chapters for this story already written on paper! Isn't that enough for now?!

Little Sis: Nope! I expect the next chapter to be up by next month if you wish to keep the ability to have kids.

Titano Man XIII: *Nods fearfully while protectively holding his family jewels* Got it!

Little Sis: Good!

Little Sis walks off leaving a trembling Titano Man behind.

Riku: You based Karly off her?!

Titano Man XIII: Yes. But I toned her down. By a lot! *Takes a deep breath* Well now that the death threats are over I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of Final Kingdom. Just so you know Bo-bobo won't be the only character from another game/anime that I'll put in here. Though it'll only be characters no world outside of Final Fantasy. Anyways, please leave a review and let me know how I did. I know my chapters are pretty long so if you don't like that then I apologize, but if you flame me for it, then frak off! Now someone close this thing off!

Karly: See you next time!

Titano Man XIII: How'd you get in here?!


	2. Geniuses, Heartless, and Datalogs

Titano Man XIII: Welcome. I am here to bring to you, great viewer, and quality entertainment. Because without I would just be some ordinary guy waiting for when he gets accepted into college so he could kick start his career.

Karly: Geez, what's with the whole humble and serious act?

Titano Man XIII: What? People like humble story writers.

Karly: Whatever... Let's just get this show on the road.

Titano Man XIII: Alright, alright. Roll the disclaimer!

Xion: Titano Man XIII does not own Kingdom Hearts, Dissidia Final Fantasy, and Final Fantasy in general, Pokémon, or anything else that he decides to put in here. He does however have ownership over all of the OCs in this story with the exception of Shinryu Verus who belongs to The Unknowing Herald.

Titano Man XIII: With that out of the way, Shin... please say hi.

Shinryu Verus: Hello everyone.

Titano Man XIII: And with that I say, on with the show!

* * *

><p><strong>Final Kingdom<strong>

**Arc 1: Welcome to Kingdom Hearts Academy!**

The scene opens to show the illustrious, if oddly named, Kingdom Hearts Academy.

It is here that future politicians, businessmen, scientists, and great heroes are made for the benefit of the world and its people.

We shift our focus to a classroom situated on the third floor of the main school building.

Here we see a Miss. Xion Alyson Stoner staring out of the window while supporting her head with her arm.

**Play Final Fantasy VIII OST- Balamb Garden**

It had been a full two weeks since the start of the school year and the days passed quickly as the students got used to their schedules and the layout of the school.

The room was peaceful with quiet chatter here and there.

The door then opened and Karly walked in looking quite tired. She still wore the same clothes from two weeks ago only the tie was no longer there.

The scene froze as the name of the episode appeared on screen.

**Geniuses, Heartless, and Datalogs.**

The brunette groaned as she entered the room and took her seat.

"Another day of sitting on my ass and listening to a bunch of pretentious old farts talk about how smart they are." she said tiredly with a sigh.

She looked around the room for a minute before sighing.

'_I've been here for two weeks and I'm already bored of school. Something interesting better happen soon or else I'll go insane!_' she thought as she looked at the hi-tech smart board at the front of the room.

She gazed around once more until her eyes landed on Xion, who appeared to be deep in thought.

'_I wonder what she's thinking about?_' she thought as she stared at the ravenette.

Karly reached over and tapped Xion's shoulder.

"Hey... Xion, right? What're you so deep in thought about?" she asked in a bored tone. She really didn't care about what the girl was thinking about, she just wanted to start a conversation.

But Karly received no response.

'_Is she ignoring me?!_' she thought in irritation as her left eye twitched. No one ignores Karly and gets away with it! She huffed in annoyance as she sat back in her seat and crossed her eyes over her chest. '_I'll teach her to ignore me!_' she thought as a mischievous look came onto her face.

The girl slowly reached out to grasp Xion's wrist. She was about to grab it when a voice spoke up from behind her.

Hey Karly! What'cha doin'?" asked the voice. (Somewhere far away a little Hispanic/Jewish girl sneezed)

Karly jumped a little and looked back to see Myde "Demyx" K. Suzumura standing behind her with a curious look on his face.

The girl glanced back to the ravenette to see if she had noticed. Fortunately she hadn't. Karly looked back to Demyx and glared at him. "Demyx! What are you doing here?!" she whispered harshly.

"What? Can't a guy pay a visit to a friend every now and then?" asked the musician.

"Not when that friend's about to pull a prank!" growled the girl. "Now sit back and shut up! And if you don't, I'll take your precious sitar and bash it over your head until it breaks!" she said threateningly.

The blond gulped and backed off. He didn't want that to happen. Mostly due to how sturdy his sitar was.

The girl returned to her prank and reached towards the ravenette. She grabbed the girl's wrist and briefly checked to see if the girl had noticed or not before quickly pulling the limb out from under her head.

Xion's head slammed down onto the desk with a thud.

Karly started giggling at her success and even Myde couldn't help but let out a chuckle.

Xion let a small groan of discomfort before she lifted her head and spied a chuckling Myde and a giggling Karly. She let a slight scowl mar her pretty face before she reached into her item bag with infinite storage and pulled the biggest, thickest, and heaviest textbook her teachers had assigned her so far.

She easily lifted the large book into the air a little above her head before bringing it down with all of her might. "Xion Chop!" she cried out as the heavy book came down. (Somewhere out there a scythe wielding girl with pigtails sneezed.)

Karly noticed the attack upcoming towards her and quick moved her head out of the way.

The attack missed Karly but it struck Myde on the head instead.

The attack not only knocked the blond out, but it also caused blood to flow out from where the book struck.

**Demyx Owned****: 3**

The ravenette launched another attack, but this time it was caught by Karly.

"That was close." the brunette said with a little relief in her voice.

The girl looked at her would be attacker and saw her glaring at her.

"Whoa, whoa. Calm down. I was just trying to snap you out the funk you were in, okay." she said with a sheepish smile as she let go of the girl's wrist. She had a feeling something like this would happen.

"Next time you could try, I don't know, shaking my shoulder, or speaking up." Xion said with a blank look as she put her book down and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Got it." Karly said with a nod. "What were you thinking about?" she asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Oh, I was thinking about how the weather outside was affecting people today." Xion said as she gestured to the weather outside.

Karly looked out the window and saw that it had started raining outside.

"I also zoned out a little." the ravenette added sheepishly.

The two girls then looked to the floor when they heard a groan.

They saw that Myde was regaining consciousness.

"Why did you hit me?" he asked as he held his throbbing head.

"Sorry. I was aiming for Karly." she admitted sheepishly. "Are you alright?" she asked in concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Believe it or not, but this sort of thing happens all the time. I'll be back to one hundred percent in a little bit." the musician said waving his hand dismissively.

"I see..." Xion said not really sure that she understood that.

"It's one of Demyx's special skills! He can bounce back from almost any injury in no time at all!" Karly said with a smirk and a shrug.

"Can heal... at rapid... pace..." the ravenette said as she scrawled something into a notebook.

"Uh, what are you doing?" the brunette asked as she stared at her classmate in confusion.

"Oh, this?" she said pointing at the notebook. "I'm making a sort of Datalog of a few of the more interesting people I meet here." she said as she closed the notebook. "I only have four entries so far. But I'll be able to fill it out more as time goes on." she said as she put the notebook away.

"What entries do you have so far?" asked Myde.

"Well, aside from you... I have myself... My friend Terra... and Karly." she said as she counted off the entries on her fingers.

"You put me in you Datalog thing?" Karly asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes... But it's pretty much empty since I don't know anything about you." the ravenette said with a sigh.

"Hm... Maybe I'll help you fill it out later if it means that much to you." Karly said with a shrug.

"Really?"

"Sure." replied the brunette.

"Does lunch sound like a good time?" asked Xion.

"Sure. In fact... Meet me at this address." Karly said as she scribbled down the name of a restaurant she and her friends frequented.

"Thanks. I'll meet you there!" the girl said with a grateful smile. This was great! Not only will she be able to fill out her Datalog. But she'll also be one step closer to befriending the mysterious brunette. Maybe she'll bring Terra along too. Since the students were allowed to leave school grounds during lunch, she could use it as an opportunity to hang out with her new and equally mysterious friend some more.

"Well, I better get going. Me and Axel have some big stuff going on later." Myde said as he turned to leave the room.

"Big prank on Vexen?" asked Karly.

"Maybe..." was all the blond said.

"Alright. Well, tell me how it went later, kay." said the brunette.

"Sure thing! Well, see you later Karls!" the musician said as he left the room.

"DON'T CALL ME KARLS!" she shouted at him with a tick mark on her head. "God... He can be so annoying sometimes." she muttered irritably.

Soon after the bell rang to signal the beginning of classes.

**Play awesome anime opening!**

* * *

><p><span><strong>Later with Xion in her English class!<strong>

Xion was diligently scribbling down the notes that her English teacher Mr. Lumaria "Marluxia" Ikeda had written down on the board.

Lumaria was a tall, elegant man with feminine features (which several girls found attractive). He had shoulder-length and rose pink with ruffles, blue eyes, and his lips were a pale pink. He wore a simple white button-up, long-sleeved, white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, black dress pants with matching shoes, and a silver chain necklace with a blooming rose as the pendant. His attire was simple yet elegant.

"Now my students. Can anyone tell me how the Goddess Cosmos fell into her eternal slumber?" the rose-haired man asked as he turned to face his students.

They were studying a book called 'The Tragedy of the Goddess.' It was a pretty good read. It spoke of an endless war between Gods and the sacrifice the Goddess made in order for the war to end and for the worlds to be at peace.

Xion raised her hand to answer the question.

"Xion... You've answered every question I had asked so far. Perhaps you should let someone else have a go?" he asked with a sweatdrop. Xion was a good student. That much was certain. But if she answered every question then it'll make all the other students look like idiots.

"Oh... Okay Mr. Ikeda." the girl said sheepishly as she put her hand down.

"Now... Anyone?" he asked as he looked over the room.

No one raised their hand.

Just when he was about to give up and let Xion answer the question, he noticed one of his students sleeping in the back of the room.

He narrowed his eyes at the boy. One thing he doesn't tolerate in his class is laziness.

"SHINRYU VERUS!" he shouted waking the boy up. "Since you find my class so boring why don't you answer the question?!" he asked with his arms crossed over his chest. "Can you tell me how the Goddess of Harmony fell into her eternal slumber and the prophecy involving her awakening?" he asked with a scowl. Dealing with lazy students was one way to lose your hair early. And the man did _not_ want that to happen.

The boy known as Shiryu "Shin" Verus yawned before standing from his seat.

Shin was a young man of Caucasian descent and he was slightly above average height (1.82 meters). He had shoulder-length spiky brown hair, and brown eyes. He wore an un-zipped black over-jacket with the design of a golden dragon wing on his back, a matching black shirt, trousers, and shoes. All of them with golden linings to them.

"In order to stop the endless cycles of conflict, Cosmos, the Goddess of Harmony, turned her own heart into sixteen crystals of light, which she then gave to her warriors to combat Chaos, the God of Discord and his disciples. After a long battle the Warriors of Cosmos defeated Chaos' disciples and used the crystals given to them by the Goddess to turn the God of Discord into crystal before sealing him into the eternal Void for all eternity. Since the Goddes no longer had her heart she fell into an eternal slumber. The warriors then hid the crystals across the sixteen known worlds on orders from the Goddess. The prophecy connected to this story states that four great crystals representing the elements of water, fire, earth, and wind will choose warriors that will set out and find the crystal and bring them to the Goddess to awaken her." said the young man. He had read and reread the book many times since it was assigned to the class two weeks ago. The only reason he was asleep was because they were going over details from the beginning of the book. He didn't find going over details he already knew interesting so he decided to take a short nap.

Everyone stared slack jawed at the brunet.

"That's... correct..." the rose-haired man said incredulously. He never expected to get such an answer.

"Is that all?" asked Shin.

"Yes... you may sit down now." Lumaria said still thunderstruck.

The boy then sat back down and promptly fell asleep.

Xion stared at Shin with interest.

She then pulled out her Datalog and started scribbling in a new entry.

"Shiryu... Verus... really, really smart." she muttered as she wrote down the info. She closed the notebook and looked at the snoozing boy. '_There is more to that guy than meets the eye. And I intend to find out!_' she thought with determination.

**End Theme**

* * *

><p><span><strong>In a hallway later that day!<strong>

**Play Final Fantasy VIII OST- Breezy**

Xion was walking down a hallway looking through the entries she had written in her Datalog thus far. She had several new entries added since her English class.

Oddly they were of a couple of the teachers in there as well.

"Even "Vexen" Doofenshmirtz. Hair: blond, eyes: blue, job: scientist, elemental affinity: ice. A little odd. Comes up with new inventions and experiments every day. Very smart." she said as she read over her science teacher's info. "Aeleus "Lexaeus" Banner. Hair: auburn, eyes: blue, job: security guard/gym teacher, elemental affinity: earth. Huge in stature. Super strong. Silent. Smart despite his appearance." she said as she read the info about Aeleus. She had scribbled down the information on these two and a few others during the day. She was quite curious about these people and wanted to learn more about them. How she learned their nicknames though could be anyone's guess.

She was so preoccupied with what she was doing that she didn't see the person in front of her until she bumped right into them.

"Hey! Watch where you're going you little brat!" an irritated male voice said as Xion looked up at the person from her spot on the floor.

It was Vanitas.

"Oh... It's you." Xion said as she threw a glare at the boy.

"What's that supposed to mean." the raven-haired boy said with a scowl.

"That much should be obvious Mr. Sexist." the ravenette said as she picked herself off the floor and dusted off her clothes.

"Huh?" the boy asked as he arched an eyebrow in confusion.

Xion rolled her eyes. "Remember the first day? You bumped into me and my friend and called us talentless, top-heavy, idiots! Remember?" she asked with a scowl.

"That? I was joking." he said as he stuffed his hands into his pockets not realizing the horrible mistake he just made.

"A joke?" she asked her face betraying no emotion.

Uh-oh...

"Yep."

Shut up Vanitas!

"As is, it's meant to be funny?" the ravenette said as her rage began to grow.

Abort! Abort!

"Uh, yeah." Vanitas said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Though I guess that you might be scatterbrained as well if you don't know what a joke means." he said with a shrug.

This time he meant it.

And… that did it.

"I see..." she said as pure, unbridled, girl-rage welled up inside her. "Well then... I have a joke for you!" she said with a venomous smile on her face.

Don't fall for it!

"What is it?" asked Vanitas.

I'll say a few nice words for you at your funeral.

"How do you get a boy to reach a high C?" she asked with that smile still on her face.

"Don't know? How do you get a boy to reach a high C?" he asked with an arched eyebrow.

"You do... THIS!" she said as she delivered a fierce kick to the boy's family jewels.

I tried to warn him...

People who had seen the act couldn't help but wince.

Vanitas fell to his knees while clutching the afflicted spot in agony.

"Stupid sexist bastard says he's joking then calls me scatterbrained...!" she muttered angrily as she stormed off.

Meanwhile Vanitas was still on the ground whimpering in pain.

That poor stupid bastard.

**End Theme**

* * *

><p><span><strong>Later on in Radiant Garden!<strong>

**Play Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep OST- Radiant Garden**

Terra Branford was taking a leisurely stroll through the streets of Radiant Garden during her lunch period.

She reached the city's Central Square only to stop in awe upon seeing the massive amounts of flowers planted here.

The Central Square was a large open pavilion lined with tall pine trees. Further into the square you can find four large gardens with multiple colored flowers lined up into several rows. Two of the gardens, which sat opposite to each other, had rows of red, white, and yellow flowers. The other two gardens, which also sat opposite to each other, had blue, white, and yellow rows of flowers. And in the center was a beautiful mosaic mural.

To the north end of the square were the golden gates that led to the Castle where the King of Radiant Garden and his family resided.

To the south was the stairwell that led to the main gate that led to the Outer Gardens.

To the east and west were paths that led further into the city.

All in all, the Central Square was quite beautiful.

Terra walked further into the square taking in the sights. She was amazed how well this city got along with nature. The city really lived up to its name.

She stopped in front of one of the gardens and crouched down to look at the flowers.

As she looked, she noticed a small green flowering bush sitting in front of her. It was quite small and almost escaped her notice. It had large, beautiful, pink, five petal flowers with two leaves on the sides with many smaller pink flowers on the top.

"Such pretty flowers." she said as she went to pick one of the flowers out of the bush.

Just as she was about to touch one of the large pink flowers on the side, the bush suddenly moved out of her reach on its own!

"Huh?" the girl asked in confusion as the bush stopped a little ways out of her reach. She tilted her head to the side in confusion before leaning forward slightly to touch the bush.

She was about to reach it when the bush moved again!

She leaned in more and the bush moved back some more.

Getting annoyed, Terra jumped forward to grab the odd bush only for it to move away again!

The green-haired girl face planted into the flowerbed as the bush stopped outside of her reach.

Terra picked herself up and sat on her knees while wiping the dirt from her face. She looked at the small bush for several moments wondering just what kind of plant runs away from people.

Her wondering came to an end when the bush unfurled and revealed itself to be a small, hedgehog-like creature.

"Oh! What are you little one?" Terra asked in surprise as she tilted her head to get a better look at the odd animal. "You look quite familiar... Where have I seen an animal like you before?" she asked as she tried to dig up a memory of where she had seen a creature like the one she was looking at before.

Before she could think any further, the odd little animal suddenly ran off towards the Castle Gardens.

"Wait! I'm not going to hurt you!" she said as she chased after the animal. One thing about Terra that all should know is that she loves animals. And to have one either not like her or be fearful of her is like a stab to the heart.

* * *

><p><span><strong>At the Castle Gardens!<strong>

**Play Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum OST- Eterna Forest**

Terra reached the only part of the Castle Gardens that were open to the public and looked around for the odd little animal she was chasing.

She noticed something in the corner of her eye dart into a nearby bush and she moved towards it.

"It's okay... I'm not going to hurt you." she said gently as she held her hand out for the little creature.

Slowly, tentatively, the small animal crawled out from the bush it was hiding in and looked at the girl.

Now that it was out in the open Terra could see its features clearly.

The creature, known to many as a Pokémon, was a small, white hedgehog-like creature. It had green fur on its back and a pink flower with two leaves on each side of its head, which resembled the Gracidea flower. Its legs were short and its underside was plump.

Terra gasped when she saw the creature. '_It's so CUTE!_' she thought as she gazed at the Pokémon. "Now I know what you are!" she said with a smile as she reached out and gently pet the creature on its head. "You're a Shaymin! A Grass-type Pokémon indigenous to this world!" she said excitedly as she picked the hedgehog-like creature up and placed it onto her lap. "I read about you and other Pokémon from the books my father gave me when I was younger!" she said as she continued to cuddle with the adorable looking creature. "I always wanted to meet with one of you but the book said your species is very rare. I'm glad that I finally got to meet one of you." she said with a lovely smile on her face. She can finally cross meeting a Shaymin off her bucket list now.

"_I'm glad I got to meet someone as nice as you too!_" a small voice said from within Terra's mind.

Terra's eyes widened as she looked at the Pokémon sitting in her lap. "Did you just talk to me?" she asked in surprise. She had read that Legendary Pokémon had the ability to communicate to humans via telepathy, but she wasn't very sure about that fact until just now.

Shaymin nodded its head in confirmation.

"_I'm sorry I ran away from you earlier. I was a little shy._" the Pokémon said with an embarrassed blush.

"It's okay. To tell you the truth, I can get pretty shy around new people too." she said with a small smile.

"_Really?_" asked the Grass-type.

Terra nodded her head in confirmation. "Do you live in this garden? Or are you just passing through?" she asked the little animal.

"_I live here with all the other Pokémon in the garden. The princesses often come by to play with us or just to sit down and relax._" said Shaymin.

"There are other Pokémon living here?!" the green-haired girl asked with an excited gleam in her eye.

"_Uh-huh! They're all around us right now! You just weren't paying attention._" Shaymin said with a smile.

"Really?" she asked in shock. Normally she paid very close attention to her surroundings when it came to animals. She wondered if any of them would come out to greet her.

Her answer came when she felt something land on her head.

She looked up to see a small bird-like Pokémon known as a Fletchling looking down at her.

Fletchling was a small, avian Pokémon similar in appearance to a robin. It had a reddish-orange head with a triangular yellow mark on the back of each eye. Their body and wings were gray, and there were white tips on the wings. They had a long, black tail with a white 'v'-shaped marking near the tip. The tail ended in two points, and had two feathers sticking out at the base, giving the impression of the fletching on the end of an arrow. Its legs, beak, and eyes were black. The legs were thin and spindly, with two toes facing forward and one pointing backward on each foot.

"Fletchling!" cried the small flying-type.

"Hello there." Terra said with a smile as she scratched the Pokémon's head with her finger.

Soon other Pokémon of varying types appeared around the girl. Curious as to who she was. I would describe which types to you but that would take up too much time. So please feel free to use your imagination.

Terra was having the time of her life being around so many animals.

Little did she know that she was being watched by something nearby.

"I've never seen so many Pokémon before in my life! Granted that this is my first time meeting a Pokémon." she said with a giggle. "You don't mind that I stay here for lunch do you?" she asked the Pokémon to which they all agreed. Apparently they quickly took a liking to her.

Suddenly a series of loud clanking sounds sounded out behind Terra to see a group of monsters standing behind her.

**Play Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep OST- Black Garden**

The creatures, known to some as Heartless, appeared as a noble knight-type warrior at first glance. But a closer examination revealed that the creatures, known as Soldiers, were just as beastly as any other Heartless. Their muscular forms were clad in a bluish-black body suit bearing the Heartless emblem, which was a black heart with red linings, a jagged red cross going through the middle, and a fleur-de-lis at the bottom, and purple inverted emblems trimmed in gold on the knees. They wore black, silver trimmed shoes that ended in spiral toes, silver wristbands, and a silver knight's helm decorated with two angular, eye-like spirals on the front and a yellow stripe at the base of the curled silver plume. Its true Heartless behavior comes out on a close examination of their fierce blue and red-tipped claws, and their shadowed faces with bright yellow eyes and toothy maw.

"What are those things?!" Terra asked in shock.

"_Monsters!_" Shaymin cried as it and the other Pokémon fled leaving the green haired girl alone with the beasts.

Terra stood up and stared at the Heartless before her.

The creatures slowly advanced as the girl stood there, unsure about what was going on.

"Stay back! I don't want to fight you!" she said as she backed up.

The Heartless ignored her and charged at her, intending to rip out her heart.

**Battle Info****: Defeat all of the Heartless**

"Get away!" she shouted as she sent a blast of ice magic at one of the creatures killing it instantly.

The Heartless exploded into black mist, releasing a pink, heart-shaped light as it did so.

The other Heartless kept advancing and Terra had to dodge several of their attacks.

She then sent a small spark of fire skidding along the ground at one of the Soldiers.

Once it was underneath the Heartless, it exploded and killed it.

She then struck several Heartless with bolts of lightning, causing them to explode and release the hearts they had.

The Heartless didn't give up and kept attacking.

"These things just won't quit!" the green-haired girl said as she panted lightly. She was starting to run a little low on MP.

One Soldier got a little too close and she knocked it back with a blast of ice.

"Darkness of Gravity!" she cried as she flattened the Soldiers with a field of increased gravity. Sorrowful Waters!" she said as she raised her hands into the air.

Suddenly a powerful jet of water shot up from the ground and killed all of the Heartless.

An aura of light surrounded for a moment, signaling that she had just leveled up.

**Terra leveled up!**

**Terra is now level 10!**

**HP increased!**

**MP increased!**

**AP increased!**

**Received 100 Munny!**

**Received Potion!**

**End Theme**

Terra looked around to see if any more of those creatures were around.

She relaxed when she saw that she was alone.

"I'm glad it's over." she said in relief. "Just what were those monsters?" she asked herself as she crossed her arms under her breasts and tilted her head to the side in thought.

Just then a single Soldier Heartless leapt out at her from the bushes nearby.

Terra gasped in shock as she turned to see the creature upcoming at her.

The Heartless' clawed hand was inches away from piercing her chest when it was suddenly killed by an intense beam of light.

Terra looked to where the beam originated and saw a small Grass Pokémon known as a Bulbasaur.

Bulbasaur was a small, quadruped Pokémon with green or bluish green skin and dark patches. Its thick legs each ended with three sharp claws. Its eyes had red irises, while the sclera and pupils were white. Bulbasaur had a pair of small, pointed teeth visible whenever its mouth is open. It had a bulb on its back, grown from a seed planted there at birth. The bulb provided it with energy through photosynthesis as well as from the nutrient-rich seeds contained within.

"Bulbasaur?" the Pokémon asked in concern.

"I'm fine. Thank you." she said in gratitude as she sat on her knees.

"Bulbasaur." the Grass-type said with a nod before moving to a large rock and sitting on top of it.

As Terra sat there and recovered from her battle, she thought about those creatures and what they were and where they might have come from. There was more going on in Radiant Garden than just what's on the surface.

* * *

><p><span><strong>With Xion at the entrance of a small restaurant!<strong>

We now Miss. Xion Alyson Stoner standing in front of a small restaurant by the name of Seventh Heaven.

She had heard about this restaurant from several people in town and wanted to check it out.

She entered the establishment alone since she wasn't able to find Terra.

**Play Final Fantasy VII OST- Tifa's Theme**

She saw what one would expect to find in a family restaurant.

There were many tables spaced throughout the room to provide comfort for the patrons. Private booths lined the sides while party booths for big groups were set up along the back.

"It was here that Xion spotted Karly sitting at a table surrounded by people she hadn't met before.

The brunette spotted her and waved her over.

Xion walked over to the table.

"It's about time you got here Stoner! We were just about to order." Karly said with a cheerful grin.

"Sorry I'm late. I was looking for a friend of mine so I could ask her to join us." the ravenette said sheepishly.

"It's okay. Now sit your butt down and order something!" Karly commanded playfully.

Xion sat down and looked at the menu.

"So you're the kid Karly was telling us about." a man with spiky red hair and green eyes said from a seat to the immediate right side of Karly.

It was Lea.

"I didn't think Karly would talk about someone she barely knows." Xion said in mild surprise. It wasn't uncommon for news to spread quickly. But Karly didn't look like one to talk about everything they do to someone. Then again, looks can be deceiving.

"Eh, Karly's always blabbing about something she's doing. She might not look it, but she acts just like a white girl." the pyromancer said jokingly.

"I do not!" she said as she punched the man on the arm.

"Hey, I'm kidding! You gotta learn to lighten up!" the redhead said as he rubbed his arm.

"Whatever." the girl said with a pout as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Xion couldn't help but smile at the playful banter. She wanted friends like that.

"Anyways, my name's Lea, but Karly here calls me Axel. You can call me either name, so commit them to memory. Got it?" asked Lea.

"Got it!" Xion said with a nod.

"We already met. The name's Myde. But you can call me Demyx." Myde said with a wave as he sat to Karly's left.

"Hi! I'm Sora. Nice to meet you." said a boy sitting to Lea's right.

The boy, Sora, had spiky brown hair, and blue eyes the same shade as the sky. He wore a blue shirt with red pockets on the front, a black jacket with a pair of silver shoulder pads strapped to it and a black hood on the back, black, baggy, knee-length pants with a black belt and a red satchel attached to each pant leg, black shoes that turn yellow at the heel, black, fingerless gloves, and a silver chain necklace with a crown shaped pendant.

"I'm Kairi." a girl said to Sora's right.

Kairi had shoulder-length dark red hair, deep blue eyes likened to the sea, and a pale complexion. She wore a pink strapless mini-dress made up of three zippers (two appeared to be just decorative) as well as a white halter top underneath her mini-dress with a black hood. She also sported three bracelets on her left wrist, a black belt reminiscent of suspenders with a note book shaped bag attachment, and lilac sneakers with the laces tied around the ankles. Around her neck was a necklace with a small silver bead attached to it.

"My name is Naminé." said a girl to Kairi's right.

Naminé bared a slight resemblance to Kairi, in face, eyes, and body structure, but that's where the similarities ended. She had long blonde hair which she had draped over her right shoulder, a slightly paler complexion than Kairi, rosy cheeks, and pale pink lips. She wore a plain, pure white, mid-thigh-length, lace dress with slight blue sandals.

"Name's Riku." said a boy sitting to Naminé's right side.

Riku was a tall, fit, young man with long, shoulder-length silver hair and teal colored eyes. He wore a black, zip-up tank top with a white and yellow vest over it, a white, thick band on his left wrist, baggy, blue pants held up by a black belt with square spike studs, and a simple pair of white sneakers.

"My name's Roxas. It's nice to meet you." said a boy to Myde's left.

Roxas' facial features closely resembled Sora's, having the same bright blue eyes as him, the same body build, and spiky hair as well. In contrast to Sora's brown hair, Roxas' hair was a golden blond. His hair style also separated them, as the front concentrated the spikes on the right side of his head as if windswept, and the back is smoother and flakier. He wore a black, high-collared jacket with a zipper resembling an 'X'. Over this, he wore another jacket, this one unzipped and white, with several black block designs and a grey hem on the end of each sleeve. This jacket's collar was red and pleated and folded back. He also wore two-colored pants; the legs of his pants were beige with several of what looked like buttons on the hem that appeared to attach the legs to the rest of the cloth, which were dark-colored. His shoes were colored in shades of grey and black, and had red straps in place of laces. Finally, he wore a wristband with a black-and-white checkerboard pattern on his left wrist, as well as a plain black ring on his left index finger and a plain white ring on his left middle finger.

The ravenette looked at the boys and felt a small blush dust her cheeks. She always found blonds to be quite good looking.

"Hi. My name's Ventus. But you can just call me Ven." said a boy on Roxas' left side.

Xion looked at the boy and her eyes widened in shock.

Ventus looked exactly like Roxas! Only his hair and eyes were a slightly lighter shade.

Ven had spiky blond hair that was the in the same style as Roxas' and bright blue eyes. The same shade as Sora's. He wore a jacket that was white on the right side and black on the left side with a red pleated collar. Under the jacket was a grey vest with a single button and several white, angular patterns on it. Under that he wore a plain, high-necked, black shirt. He also had a chunk of dull green and grey armor on his midsection that appeared to be under his vest. His pants were colored in shades of grey, black, and white and ballooned slightly before closing up halfway down his legs, similar to Capri pants. He also wore an ornate, dull green and grey piece of armor on his upper-left arm, along with a black and white checkered wristband with white edges. He wore two black, criss-crossing straps on his chest, on which he wore a silver Keyblade Master emblem. His boots appeared to be an armored version of normal street shoes in shades of dull green and grey.

Xion stared at the boy for several moments before shaking her head.

"Hi... My name's Xion Alyson Stoner. But you can all just call me Xion." she said with a smile.

"Nice to meet you Xion!" Kairi greeted cheerfully.

"We heard quite a bit about you from Karly." said Riku.

"I can't wait to get to know all of you better!" the ravenette said with a nod. She then looked at Roxas and Ven. "Okay... I just have to ask..." she said as she looked between the two. "Are you two twins or something?" she asked sheepishly.

The two blonds looked at each other for a moment before bursting into laughter.

"Pay up." Karly said as she held her hand out towards Lea.

The redhead grumbled before reaching into his pocket and pulling out one hundred Munny and giving it to Karly.

Xion had a confused look on her face as she stared at the odd group.

The two boys stopped laughing and Roxas spoke.

"You're not the first person to ask that." he said with a small smile as he scratched the back of his head. "I am a twin... Just not with Ven." he said with a shrug.

"Who's your twin?" Xion asked in curiosity.

"That'd be me." Sora said with a wave.

"Huh? But you two don't..." the girl said while gesturing to the two.

"We're fraternal." said Roxas.

"Oh."

"And Ven here's my body double." Roxas said with a grin.

"Hey! I'm not your body double! If anything you're my body double!" Ven said as he looked at his fellow blond.

"Get real!" Roxas said as he pushed Ven's shoulder.

The two boys laughed in amusement. Apparently this was an old joke they shared.

"You know, Naminé and I are twins too." Kairi said with a grin.

Xion looked the two over.

"Yeah, I can totally see it." the ravenette said with a small giggle.

The waitress then arrived to take their orders.

"Hello! I'm Aerith Gainsborough! And I'll be your waitress this afternoon!" the girl said as she walked up to the table.

Aerith had long brown hair that was drawn back into a thick plait with a large pink ribbon holding it together and she had deep emerald-green eyes. She wore a carmine pink and white top held up by a string that wrapped around her neck. Underneath this top, Aerith wore a pink dress with a horizontal white stripe near the bottom. She wore yet another dress underneath the first one, this dress being white and slightly longer than the first. And on her feet were a pair of brown boots.

"Hey, Aerith!" Karly said with a wave.

"Oh! Hello Karly! Let me guess... You want the usual?" Aerith asked rhetorically as a smile graced her face.

"If you would?" the brunette asked with an innocent expression.

"I guess that the same goes for all of you too?" she asked eyeing Karly's friends to which they nodded.

Aerith wrote down the orders and then spotted Xion.

"You're must be new here. What'll you be having?" the waitress asked as she got ready to write down the girl's order.

"Um... I guess I'll have a regular burger and fries." Xion said with a shrug.

"Alright then." Aerith said with a nod. "Your orders will be ready soon." she said as she walked away.

"Hey Xion." Lea called out, getting the girl's attention. "I heard from Karly that you're making something called a 'Datalog,' right?"

The girl nodded.

"What's it for?" he asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Oh, well... It's for information really." she said as she pulled out the notebook. "I compile the data on people who I think are interesting." she said as she opened onto an entry about Karly. "The more I learn about a person I meet... The more information I add." she said as she closed the Datalog. "I also use it to record events and write down other relevant sources of information." she said as she put the notebook away.

"Sounds like it could come in handy." Riku said a little impressed. Travelers and warriors compiling logs wasn't anything new. But he saw that Xion's Datalog was very detailed, and that meticulous work was placed into it. He could respect her desire to seek out information since they say knowledge is power, but he wondered what a girl like her would do with the info after.

"It will!" Xion said excitedly. "You see, a lot of bestiaries out there are incomplete. They either have creatures they had yet to discover, or information about an already known species of animal that they didn't learn about. The same can be said about history as well. There's still so much we humans can learn. That's why I'm making this Datalog. If I can learn everything about the people I meet, the places I've been to, and the monsters I fight, then I can fill in all of the missing bits of information that we don't know about!" she said with a grin. This had been a dream of hers for quite some time. She had several holes in her memory that have been nagging at her. So she figured that if she learned more about the past and what's out there, then she could probably fill in the gaps in her memories as well.

"That's a pretty tough job for just one kid." Lea said as he scratched the back of his neck.

"You're all welcomed to help me if you want to?" she asked politely.

"Hm, I'll think about it." Karly said as she put a finger to her lip in thought.

After that, their orders arrived and they conversed casually as they ate.

But unbeknownst to Xion and the others, someone was listening in.

"So... the little Poppet thinks she can fill in the gaps huh? As if!" a shadowed man said from nearby. "There're some things in this world not worth learning about." the man said before getting up and leaving the restaurant.

**End Theme**

**Narrator****: As two of our heroes begin to connect with each other. A mysterious man leaves the Seventh Heaven, muttering cryptic words. Just who is this man? And what does he know? Will Xion ever fill in the gaps in her memory? Will Terra become more prominent as the story progresses? Will I ever stop asking questions we probably know the answers too? Find out in the next exciting installation of Kingdom Hearts Academy!**

**End of Chapter 2**

* * *

><p><span><strong>Author's Notes<strong>

**Play Kingdom Hearts OST Hand in Hand**

Titano Man XIII: That's the end of chapter two! Shorter than the last chapter for those who don't normally read 10K+ word chapters. I'll try to keep the chapters not too long, but not too short either. Depends on what I'm writing about in that chapter. Oh, and since I'm working on three stories at the same time, the updates for this story won't be as frequent. So please be patient. Oh, and if the Unknowing Herald is reading this then I just have one thing to say... Thanks man! You're awesome! Well I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please leave a review telling me what you think. And as a treat, I'll give you a sneak peek of what might be happening next chapter.

Teaser

Xion: A test? What kind of test?

Ignis: Falter for even a second... And you won't survive this test.

Sora: We're _so_ screwed!

?: Welcome to hell!

**Narrator****: Next time! The Test!**

Naminé: See you next time!

Titano Man XIII: HOW DID YOU GET IN HERE?!

PS: I'll need some help finding an anime opening for this story.


	3. The Test

Titano Man XIII: Hello my beloved fans. I'm back to bring to you the next exciting chapter of Kingdom Hearts Academy!

Naminé, Xion, and Nu-13: Yay!

Karly: About... Time!

Titano Man XIII: Hey, hey! I'm doing the best I can since I'm juggling three stories at the same time! More on that bit later.

Karly: Let's just get this chapter started. I want my God damn screen time!

Titano Man: Okay, okay! Geez! Roll the disclaimer!

Xion: Titano Man XIII does not own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, or Final Fantasy in general, Pokémon, or anything else he decides to put into this story. The only thing he does have ownership over are all the OCs in this story with the sole exception of Shinryu Verus who is owned by the Unknowing Herald.

Titano Man: And with that I proudly proclaim ON WITH THE SHOW!

* * *

><p><strong>Final Kingdom Arc 1 Kingdom hearts Academy<strong>

**Chapter 3: The Test**

**Narrator: It has been a week since Xion had met Karly's friends and things have been going quite well since then. But that's not important at the moment. We instead shift our focus to a darkened room in the main office. This was in fact the headmaster's office.**

"Sir. Your 11:00 appointment is here." the secretary's voice said from the intercom on the headmaster's desk.

The headmaster's visage was covered in darkness and only the general outline of a human shape indicated where he was in the darkened room.

The shadowed man pressed the button on the intercom. "Send him in." he said to his secretary. Oddly no voice was heard. The only indication that he even said anything was the subtitles on the screen.

"I can't hear your subtitles, sir." said the woman. "But I'll assume that you said to send him here." she said before the intercom buzzed off.

A minute later another figure walked into the room.

The figure closed the door behind them only to stumble and fall to the floor a second later.

"Ow! How can you even _see_ in here?!" the figure said as he flipped on the lights revealing himself to be the boy Lea had called the Demon of Kingdom Hearts Academy on the first day.

The scene froze as the name of the episode appeared on screen.

**The Test**

Despite the fact that the lights were on the Headmaster's features were still drenched in shadow.

"How are you..." he asked while pointing at the man. "Never mind! That's not important!" he said while walking to a chair in front of the man's desk and sitting down in it.

"What do you need to speak to me about Damon Chaos?" the headmaster asked his voice still muted.

"Still talking in subtitles I see." the now named Damon said with a laid back grin as he rested his feet onto the Headmaster's desk and crossed his arms.

The shadowed man narrowed his unseen eyes at the boy.

"Calm down old man. I'm here for a reason." he said waving off the glare.

"Out with it then." the Headmaster said calmly as he laced his fingers in front of his face.

"You see, I've been thinking lately... There sure is a lot of trash here at our prestigious academy." the boy said as he tilted his head to the side.

"Your point?" asked the Headmaster.

"Alright, alright!" he said as he sat up straight. "Answer me this. We have so many weak students attending this academy mostly due to money or political reasons. But their all mixed in with the strong students. So how do we separate the weak from the strong so we could determine who's worth enrolling or not?" he asked as he took a thinking pose. "The reason I was thinking about this is because I've had three such weaklings in my Disciplinary Committee. I've been trying to find adequate replacements but it's hard to find them when you can't tell who's weak and whose strong." he said with a shrug. "Then it hit me!" he said with a grin and a snap of his fingers. "We have a special test for all the students." he said as he leaned forward towards the Headmaster.

"What sort of test?" the man asked as he leaned forward slightly.

Damon smirked and related his plan to the Headmaster

**Play awesome anime opening!**

* * *

><p><span><strong>One Week Later!<strong>

**Play Final Fantasy VIII OST- Balamb Garden**

We now shift our focus to Homeroom where Xion was rereading The Tragedy of the Goddess. It really was a good read.

She was currently reading the battle between the warrior hailing from Lufenia and his rival on the side of Chaos, who hailed from Cornelia. She was so engrossed in the battle that she didn't see Karly looking at the book from over her shoulder.

"Good book?" the brunette asked causing Xion to jump in surprise.

"Karly! How long were you standing there?" she said as she held a hand to her chest.

"Not long." the girl said with a shrug.

"Well, please don't sneak up on me like that." the ravenette said calming down.

"So how's life treating you egghead?" Karly asked while leaning her elbow on the top of Xion's head.

The girl gained a blank look on her face and pushed Karly's arm off her head. "Knock it off!" she said in annoyance. "I've been well so far. Keeping up with my studies, hanging out with my friends, and beating the crap out of a certain black-haired asshole every time I run into him!" she said the last part with a sneer.

"Wow a month in and you already have an enemy. You're off to a really good start!" the brunette said with a grin.

"Thanks." the ravenette said with a smile.

Just then the school's PA turned on.

For several moments nothing but static was heard. A woman's voice then came over the PA.

"Um, sir... They can't hear your subtitles." she said before the silence resumed.

The entire school shared a collective sweatdrop.

A computer altered voice then came over the speakers.

"Can they hear me now?" asked the man.

"Yes Headmaster." said the woman.

"Good." said the headmaster. "Attention duelists! My hair-"

"Sir that's the wrong franchise!" said the secretary.

"Oh..." said the man. "Good morning students I trust that you have all had a good first month here at our prestigious academy. As you all should know our school prides itself on the quality of its students and the impact they will leave on the world." said the Headmaster.

Karly and Xion looked at each other with arched eyebrows. What was the Headmaster getting at?

"It has been recently brought to my attention that not all of the students had enrolled here through honest means, meaning that they had either bought or bribed their way into our academy." said the man.

Many of the students gasped. A lot of them had gotten into this school because their skills had been recognized by these people as great. It is not at all easy to get into this school. They had to pass many rigorous tests in order to get in. And to hear that some students were able to get in by bribing the officials made it feel like those students were spitting in their faces. It certainly left a sour taste in their mouths.

"Since it is difficult to separate these students from the others I have devised a special test to determine who should be here and who shouldn't. So all students should report to the auditorium immediately. That is all." the Headmaster said and with that he ended his announcement.

Xion and Karly looked at each other as the other students began to mutter to each other.

"…A test? What kind of test?" the ravenette asked in confusion. She had a bad feeling about this.

Karly simply shrugged her shoulders.

You heard the Headmaster! Get going!" the homeroom teacher said as he started ushering the students out.

* * *

><p><span><strong>In the auditorium!<strong>

We now shift our focus to the school's massive auditorium which was big enough to house the entire student body.

The students chattered about the recent news as well as this mystery test they were to take.

"So what do you think this test's about?" Myde asked as he sat next to Lea.

"Don't know. But I have a feeling that we're not going to like it.

"Aw man! I'm not very good at tests, y'know!" Raijin said worriedly as he sat next to Seifer and Fujin.

"Stop worrying." Fuu replied in her trademarked monotone.

"Fujin's right. This test is just to find out whose trash and who's the best of the best. We got nothing to worry about." Seifer said as he crossed his arms.

"Hey, Roxas?" Sora asked his twin nervously.

"Yeah?" asked the blond.

"What if we fail the test and get kicked out?" the boy asked in worry.

Roxas rested a hand on his brother's shoulder.

"Don't worry. We both got in here because our talents were recognized by great people. I'm absolutely sure that we'll pass!" he said with a smile.

"I hope so." said Sora. He had a feeling in his gut saying that this will not be an easy test.

'_What does the Headmaster have in store for us_' Ienzo thought as he read his Lexicon. He had a feeling that mere intellect wouldn't be enough to pass this test.

Xion sat down in her seat nervously. She was worried that her skills wouldn't be enough to stay in the school.

"Xion!" a girl's voice said from nearby.

The ravenette looked over to see her friend Terra Branford taking the seat next to her.

"Hey Terra! I haven't seen you in a while." the girl said her mood instantly brightening. It was good to see a friend again.

She pulled Terra into a brief hug.

"I know. I've been spending my lunch breaks in the castle gardens." the green-haired girl said sheepishly.

"What were you doing in the castle gardens?" the ravenette asked with an arched eyebrow.

She got her answer when a small creature poked its head out from the small item bag that Terra kept strapped to her waist.

"Fletchling!" cried the tiny Pokémon.

Terra pated the bird-like creature's head.

"Shh. We don't want people to know you're here." she said softly.

Xion's eyes widened.

"Why do you have a Pokémon in your bag?!" the girl whispered to her friend.

"Well Arrow here wanted to see what my life at school was like so I decided to bring him along." Terra said sheepishly.

"Don't you know it's against the law to even _catch_ the Pokémon in the Castle Garden let alone take one out! You have to bring him back before someone notices! And you named him?!" she asked incredulously.

"I didn't know that, honest! I'll take him back as soon as the day is over." she said a little sadly. She had grown quite attached to the little guy.

Just the the Headmaster walked up onto the stage and to the podium. You'd expect that with better lighting that his features would be revealed right? Well that wasn't the case. His features were still blackened by shadow.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Play Final Fantasy VIII OST- SeeD<strong>

"Good morning my students." he said calmly. He was back to speaking in subtitles.

"How's he talking through subtitles?" Xion asked her friend who in turn shrugged.

"I am sure that you are all wondering just what this test that you will all take even is, correct?" He asked rhetorically. "Then allow me to answer. This test will determine whether or not you belong here in Kingdom Hearts Academy." he said as a large screen descended to the floor behind him and a projection showing three squares came on. "The test will be split into three segments. The first will be a written test. We will test your knowledge as well as your IQ. The second test will be an obstacle course. It's a simple get from point A to point B segment. And the third and final segment will be a test of survival." said the Headmaster.

Upon seeing the confusion in the crowd he elaborated.

"You will be thrown into an unknown location where you must use your common sense and ingenuity to survive." said the man.

Many students began to chatter at the news.

"Silence!" said the Headmaster and all of the chatter ceased. "You will all be split into three teams. Team Light." he said as the emblem of a heart with a small crown over it appeared on screen. "Team Dark." then the Heartless emblem appeared on screen. "And Team Twilight." the Nobody emblem then appeared. "Teamwork is the key in the second and third parts of the test. Not only will you all be judged individually. But you will also be judged as a team. Your every action during this test will count to your overall score. But we are looking to expel those whose skills are worthless or hold no benefit to the world. So you will not be kicked out based on your score." said the man.

The projection then turned off and the screen rose back up to the ceiling.

A collective sigh went through the room though there was still some anxiety. What if their skills weren't deemed worthy?

"Your scores will be posted after this test's conclusion. If you are unsatisfied with you score then you will seek to improve yourself as well as help those who scored below you improve as well." said the Headmaster. "Now please make your way to the exam room to begin the first part of the exam." he said before walking away from the podium and off the stage.

With that the students then stood from their seats and left the auditorium.

**End Theme**

* * *

><p><span><strong>At the exam room!<strong>

The students filed into several large rooms and saw rows upon rows of desks. (The maximum student body reached 1000. _Very_ exclusive.)

They were all assigned random seats and sat down.

Xion found herself sitting next to Ienzo.

"Um, hi… I'm Xion." she said extending her hand out to him.

The steel-blue-haired young man looked at her before shaking her hand.

"I've heard of you Miss. Stoner. You have the best grades in all of your classes. I'm Ienzo." said the man.

"Oh, well that's photographic memory for you." she said sheepishly. "I'd like to wish you luck on this test." she said with a smile.

"I thank you for your support but I don't need it. I'm fairly confident that I will pass this portion of the test quite easily." he said with a smirk.

"My, aren't you a certain one." Xion said with a giggle.

Just then the proctor for the test appeared in the room hanging upside down from the ceiling before dropping to the floor and landing on his feet.

"Yo! The name's Braig and I'll be the proctor for this exam." said the man.

Braig sported gold eyes, pointed ears, upturned eyebrows, and dark hair with several grey streaks that was tied into a long ponytail. His right eye was badly damaged and covered with a black eye patch. He also had a large, jagged scar extending from his left cheek to just under his left eye. Braig wore the Radiant Garden castle guard's uniform with a dark slate grey jacket with silver highlights, and two rows of gold buttons on the front. He wore a black belt and white gloves adorned with silver, curled heart symbol. He also wore black, knee-high boots and a tattered, red scarf around his neck.

"Now that you are all here I'll tell you the rules of this little test." he said as he stood in front of the students. "Now the test we'll be handing out to you will gauge just how smart you are. You kids will be taking three exams that will let us know just how smart you are. Now the rules are simple... Your score will be based on how many questions you get right on each exam and how fast you can complete all three segments. But if you get answer too many questions wrong or you're caught cheating then you'll automatically fail the test and be asked to leave the room and wait for the second part to start." the man said as he passed out the test papers.

"Any questions?" he looked around. "No? Then get started. You guys got an hour." he said as he sat down behind a desk and kick up his feet

The students began the test.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Play Final Fantasy VIII OST- Find Your Way<strong>

Xion flipped the paper over and eyed the paper. She noticed that the questions were all multiple choice. The second was short answer and the last test paper was quite unique. It was a mass on seemingly nonsensical symbols on the paper. But she quickly figured out what it was when she saw what appeared to be a codex and a sheet of lined paper attached to it.

'_It looks like I have to decode these symbols and decode them onto this paper._' she thought as she gazed at the test paper. '_These questions are fairly difficult to answer._' she thought with a slight grimace. These questions were a little above her level. '_Good thing I always do some studying when I get home._' she thought as she got to work.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Fifty minutes remain!<strong>

'_Oh, man! I'm _so_ screwed!_' Sora thought in panic. He was never very good at written tests. He flew through the multiple choice easily enough and the short answer gave him a little trouble but he got through it. But now he's stuck on the decoding essay portion.

I know what you're probably thinking... 'Why isn't he using the decoder attached to the test?'

Well that's simple. Braig, being the bastard that he is, neglected to mention that if any of the students are caught looking at the decoder multiple times during the last portion then they will automatically fail.

In fact he just mentioned it less than a few minutes ago after stating that he 'forgot to mention it.'

So, yeah... Sora's in a tight spot.

_'What do I do?! I didn't get to memorize all of it! And if i look again then I'll fail!_' he thought as he pulled on his hair.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Forty-five minutes remain!<strong>

'_Test two down._' Fujin thought as she moved onto the second test paper. Because of her minimal use of words Fuu spends a lot of time thinking. On top of that she's very smart. Which is why she was top of her class. '_I wonder how Seifer and Raijin are doing?_' she thought as she started working on the next question.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Thirty minutes remain!<strong>

'_Dammit! I can't understand a single one of these questions!_' Karly thought in frustration as she looked over the questions on the second test. She had put down what she thought were the answers. But chances were that they were completely wrong. '_Dammit! I should've studied more! Man, Kara is not going to let me hear the end of this if I fail!_' she thought with a grimace.

For as long as she could remember her maid had stressed the necessity for a good education and made sure that she studied and got good grades.

Failure wasn't really an option for the brunette since she would get cut off from the money she had stored should she fail any of her courses.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Fifteen minutes remain!<strong>

'_Done! Now to wait for the end of this test._' Xion thought as she put down her pencil. She had breezed through all three parts of the exam with little difficulty. The decoding essay was especially easy given her photographic memory. All she had to do was study the decoder for a few second, making sure to get all the details, and then translating the essay onto the paper. She realized that each decoding essay was different from one another since they all talked about different subjects. This was most likely to keep students from cheating.

She looked over and saw that Ienzo had also finished his test and was now reading his Lexicon.

'_I wonder how the others are doing?_' she thought as she pulled out The Tragedy of the Goddess.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Five minutes remain!<strong>

At this point almost all of the students were either working on the last exam paper or have finished the whole thing and were patiently waiting for the test to conclude.

Terra was writing down the translated version of the essay.

'_I got to remember to thank my dad for spending so much time teaching me so many things._' she thought with gratitude.

She was very studious because her parents had spent so much time on making sure she got a good education. She worked hard to get into this school and she didn't want to let them down. She also had a very good memory because she had played so many memory games when she was younger.

Suddenly Fletchling popped up onto the table and looked at her test paper.

Terra's eyes widened. She grabbed the little bird and quickly moved it back under the table before anyone could notice.

She glanced around nervously before getting back to work.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Thirty seconds remain!<strong>

'_Argh! I haven't written down a single word! I'm going to be expelled for sure!_' Sora thought as he hit himself on the head repeatedly.

'_And... Done!_' Myde thought as he finished his exam... He's smarter than he looked. Who knew?

'_This is a random cameo!_' thought a boy with outrageously spiky blond and purple hair who liked to wear leather. (Guess who!)

'_This was not as challenging as I thought it would be._' Shin thought as he placed his pencil down.

'_I'm done. I wonder how Sora's doing?_' Roxas asked himself as he put his hands behind his head.

'_Waaaah!_' Sora thought as tears streamed down his cheeks.

**End Theme**

* * *

><p>Braig looked at the clock.<p>

"Okay kiddies. Pencils down." he said as he stood up. "That's it for this part of the test!" he said with a yawn as he stretched.

Many students breathed a sigh of relief, glad that this whole ordeal was over.

Though Sora slammed his head onto his desk in despair after the assistants took the test sheets away.

'_And there goes my scholarship..._' the boy thought in despair as he let out a sigh.

"To all of you that made it this far, I say congrats! But this is just the beginning. So don't let your guard down!" he said before smirking. "Otherwise you'll be out of her faster than you can even sneeze!" he said with a dark chuckle causing a shiver to crawl down most of the students spines.

"Okay kiddies... Now I want you all to head to the science wing for the next part of the te- What the hell?!"

Just then something crashed through a window and landed on the floor in front of Braig.

A red cloak rose from the ground and unfurled. It was a man wearing the cloak!

The man was physically in his late twenties, and stood roughly six feet tall. He had crimson eyes and long black hair. He wore a red bandanna with his fringe emerging over it. His most distinctive feature was his tattered red cloak, held in place over his shoulders and lower face by several buckles. Underneath his cape his attire was black with several straps and buckles. He wore a holster for his gun against his right leg, and pointed sabatons on his feet. He wore a golden gauntlet on his left arm.

'_It's that guy from the first day!_' Xion thought in surprise.

"Nice entrance Vinnie." Braig said with a blank look. "Guy damn near gave me a heart attack." he muttered to himself as he crossed his arms.

"Sorry. I was sparring with Tifa and she got carried away." 'Vinnie', or as he's otherwise known as Vincent Valentine, said as he dusted himself off. "In hindsight I probably shouldn't have held back against her." he said as he rubbed his shoulder.

"Um, are you the guy in charge for the next part of the test?" Karly asked as she raised her hand.

The man looked at her intently causing a shiver to go down her spine.

"No. But since your instructor has yet to arrive then I will lead you to the next phase of the test." said the mysterious man. "Now go." he said as he flared his KI.

Needless to say they all ran out of that room like bats outta hell.

"Not bad." Braig said impressed.

The red-clad man said nothing as he left.

* * *

><p><span><strong>At the next part of the test!<strong>

The students filed into the main lecture room of the science wing and saw a man standing at a table filled with beakers and test tubes and a bunch of other science stuff.

The man looked to be in his late thirties and had long blond hair and green eyes. He wore a long white lab coat, grey vest, white collared shirt, and a purple ascot. He also seemed to wear black pants and silver lined boots.

He looked over the equipment on the table and took notes on the results.

"I see..." he muttered as he scribbled down notes.

"Um, excuse me." Xion said as she tapped the man on the shoulder.

"Not now! I'm very busy!" the blond said waving the girl off.

"But Professor Even, we're here to take the exam!" the ravenette said as she tapped him on the shoulder again.

Even looked up the clipboard and stared at the mass of students.

And just how you think one classroom can fit a thousand students? Three words: Magic… Expanding… Walls…

"Oh, that? Hang on." the man said with a sigh. He then put the clipboard down and walked to a nearby wall with a lever protruding from it.

He turned back to the students and cleared his throat.

"Now I'm sure you're all wondering why you're here." said the man.

"No shit Sherlock." Karly said blankly.

"I would appreciate it if you didn't use such vulgar language in my classroom young lady!" the scientist said as he narrowed his eyes at the girl. He then cleared his throat. "Now you are all here to be brought to the next stage of your test. Once there your proctor will inform you of the rules of this segment." he said as he held his hands behind his back.

"How are we going to get there?" Terra asked as she raised her hand.

Even smirked.

"I'm glad you asked that child." he said with an unsettling grin as he pulled down the lever.

Just then a circular hole opened up in the floor next to him and an odd ray-gun-like device rose from the ground.

"Gentlemen, BEHOLD! THE MATTER DIGITIZER-INATOR!" he shouted in the mad scientist voice meme as he gestured to the device (you know the one). He then started coughing from using such a grating voice.

"What does it do?" asked Sora.

The man cleared his throat. "Like the name suggests..." he picked up the ray-gun. "It takes any form of matter in the physical world..." he then fired the gun and hit Sora, instantly turning him into data and making him disappear. "…And converts it into data. The data is then transferred to an online server where you're next part of the test will begin." he said before blowing the steam off the tip of the device. "So who's next? Any volunteers?" he asked as he looked at the students.

No one looked itching to go.

"No one…? Well this seems to be a good opportunity to test the wide dispersal function." he said as he changed the settings on the device.

"The wide what now?" Karly asked as she eyed the scientist.

"Will it hurt?" Naminé asked nervously as she hid behind her twin.

"Don't worry child. I have tested it on other living creatures and it is quite safe." Even said as he pointed the ray-gun at the students. "Though there is the slight chance that all of your internal organs may become external upon returning to the physical world, good luck!" he said quickly.

"Wait, what?!" Karly asked in shock.

But before anyone could do anything they were all digitized by Even's device and sent into the digital world.

* * *

><p><span><strong>In the Digital World!<strong>

**Play Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance OST- Access the Grid**

When Xion opened her eyes she found herself in a large blue room with white glowing lines in every nook and cranny.

"Whoa...!" she said in awe as she looked about. She then looked at her body and saw that her attire had changed.

She now wore a black jumpsuit that hugged her body quite nicely and showed off her slim figure. Her every curve was accentuated by glowing white lines and emblazoned on her chest was the Nobody emblem. On her back was an odd disk-like object. On her head was a helmet like the ones worn in the Disk Wars competition. Her skin was now a pale shade of blue. Though that was due to the blue lighting.

'_I look so badass and sexy!_' she thought with a smile as she checked herself out. She looked around and saw that many of the students were wearing the same type of jumpsuit as her with only a few minor differences between them.

She quickly figured out which teams had which suit.

Team Light had blue jumpsuits with glowing light blue lines. Emblazoned on their chests was a glowing curled heart with a small crown over it.

Team Dark had dark red jumpsuits with glowing bright red lines. Emblazoned on their chests was the Heartless emblem. The red parts of the emblem glowed like the rest of their suits.

And Team Twilight had black jumpsuits with glowing white lines. They had glowing Nobody emblems on their chests.

She saw that many different students were wearing helmets.

Some were wearing helmets that covered the top of their heads and had visors over their eyes. Like the ones worn by participants of the Disk Wars Competition.

Others had helmets that covered their entire heads and hid their faces from view. Like the ones worn by the Grid's law enforcement.

And others were without helmets.

So far this was looking pretty cool.

"Hey Xion!" Karly said as she walked up to the ravenette.

The girl turned around and saw that her friend was wearing the Team Light uniform. Like Xion's suit hers hugged her body nicely and glowing light blue lines accentuated her figure. On her head was a visor like the ones worn during the Disk Wars competition. She too had pale blue skin which again was caused by the lighting. A disk-like object hung from her back as well.

"Hey Karly." the girl said with a wave.

"Where the digital hell are we?" the brunette asked as she looked around.

"My guess, we're in the Digital World." Xion said as she put her hands on her hips.

"Well if that's the case then where's the guy in charge?" Karly asked impatiently.

"I'm sure he'll be here." the Team Twilight member said reassuringly as she rested a hand on her friend's shoulder.

Just then a spotlight shone in the middle of the room and a man appeared standing under it in a flurry of data.

The man resembled a normal adult human male, albeit with light blue skin and covered from head to toe in grey armor. His armor was mostly seamless, the only distinct parts being his knee-high boots, small pauldrons, and what appeared to be "sleeves" that covered his forearms only, not his upper arms or hands. He also wore a helmet vaguely reminiscent of a hockey helmet. The man's armor was covered in complex patterns of blue computer circuitry that glowed bright cyan at times. A similar glow emitted from his boots and "sleeves". Though most of the circuitry designs were seemingly random, certain patterns on his waist and helmet create the silhouette of a belt and parts of the human brain, respectively. His eyes were grey, as were his eyebrows, suggesting that his hair, if he had any, was also grey. It seemed that he carried his Identity Disk, or at least has a circular plate resembling, it on his upper back.

"Greeting students. I am Tron. And I'll be the proctor for the next section of the test." the now named Tron said politely as he held his hands behind his back.

The students looked at the man in curiosity.

"Now I shall explain the rules of this part of the test." he said before clearing his throat. "The rules are simple. You are to simply get from point A to point B." he said as a virtual hologram of a large island appeared behind him. "You are to make your way from the drop off point on the beach and reach the door located in the mountain temple within three hours, after that the door will vanish and, should you fail to reach the door in time, you will be brought back here to wait for the final part of the test, though with a failing grade." he said as a path towards the mountain became highlighted.

Several students looked nervous.

"You have three options to choose from. You can take the direct route through the jungle and try to brave the creatures that live there. You can take the route through the hills that goes around the forest. Or you can take the path following the beach that bypasses the other two areas." he said as he pointed to three available paths to reach the destination. The jungle route was the shortest, the hill route was longer but still didn't look like it would take too long, and the beach route was the longest route.

A lot of the students looked like they had chosen their path.

"A word of warning to you all though…" Tron said earning everyone's attention. "Each route has a varying degree of difficulty. Though it is the shortest, the jungle path is the most dangerous. I wouldn't attempt it unless you are confident in your own strength and have formed a capable party to aid you." he said as the line going through the jungle turned red. "The hill path has an intermediate danger level so it is much safer than the jungle but still has its challenges so forming a party here would be beneficial." he said as the hills path turned yellow. "The beach is the safest route to choose though you will have to sacrifice time for safety." the path through the beach turned green.

The students now had to reevaluate which routes they will take.

"Also there is a chance a good number of you will be derezzed during this part of the test. But worry not. Backup copies of your data had been created so there wouldn't be any tragic loss of the student body." he said reassuringly.

The students were looking much more nervous now.

"And just so you know, being derezzed does not mean you will automatically fail. You will be reconstituted here and will have a few points deducted from your score." said the man.

"Um, excuse me?" Xion asked raising her hand.

"Yes Ms. Stoner?" Tron asked as he looked at the girl.

Xion looked shocked. "How did you-?"

"I have access to the school files. I know the names of every student here." said Tron.

"Oh. Well... I was wondering... Will everything we do during this test be graded?" she asked tentatively. She didn't want to be seen as a nerd.

"Yes." the man said with a nod. "Your every action during this test will be judged. Whether you choose to work as a team or fight on your own will be judged and recorded onto your score. Your actions during battle will be recorded as well so I suggest you think wisely about your actions.

"How will we get to the testing site?" asked Riku. He was wearing a dark blue suit with light blue circuitry that bared a resemblance to an outfit he wore when he was younger, and a visor characteristic of participants in the Grid's Disk Wars competition. (You know which outfit.)

"That is simple. You are already there. Just walk through the door and wait until I give the signal to begin." Tron said as a door in the back of the room opened to let in bright light. "I wish you all good luck." he said before vanishing.

The students began to walk out of the room into the testing site.

"So, do you think this test will be hard?" Karly asked as she walked next to Xion.

"Probably... Though something's still bugging me about this." she said with her arms crossed.

"What's that?" the brunette asked her friend with an arched eyebrow.

"We're all supposed to work as a team in order to improve ourselves and our fellow classmates, right?" she asked her friend.

"Yeah, I guess." Karly said with a shrug.

"Then why split all of us into three different teams? Why score us in our performance if it won't determine who gets to stay or not? It doesn't make any sense!" she said as she shook her head.

"Maybe splitting all of us up into different teams and scoring us is a test within itself." the brunette said with a shrug.

"That just might be the case." the girl said in realization. "They probably want to see if we'll be willing to help other students not just on our own teams, but on other teams as well!" she said snapped her fingers.

"Probably..." The Team Light member said with a shrug.

"We'll just have to wait and see." Xion said just as she and Karly went through the doorway.

**Narrator: Our heroines have braved the first test and came out victorious. But now they face the next part of their test and it will not be as easy as the first. Will they and their friends succeed in passing the test and staying in school? Or will they fail and have all of their dreams crushed? Find out in the next exciting installment of Final Kingdom Arc 1 Kingdom Hearts Academy!**

**End Theme**

**End of chapter 3**

* * *

><p><span><strong>Author's Notes<strong>

Titano Man XIII: And that's the end of this chapter!

Xion: What's going to happen next?

Titano Man XIII: Hang on. You'll see in just a minute. Now after some thought I have finally worked out a schedule in which I will update my stories. First and foremost will be my 'baby' Dark Destiny: Kingdom Hearts, followed by Kingdom Hearts Academy. After that I will update Final Fantasy VII Re:Mix. So there may be a gap between updates for my stories. It depends on the length of the chapter I'm writing really. Just be patient and it will came around soon.

Naminé: Okay then. We won't rush you.

Karly: Speak for yourself.

Titano Man XIII: I will work at my own speed, alright? Now that we have that established please read, review, like and subscribe to my story and I will work extra hard to bring in the next chapter.

Roxas: See you next time.

Titano Man XIII: How did you get in here?!

* * *

><p><span>Teaser<span>

Sora: What the heck are those things?!

?: I'm a DIGIMON. A Digital Monster!

Xion: We're almost there!

Terra: It's so cute!

Shin: Look out!

?: You will never escape here alive!

**Narrator:Next time! Escape from the Digital Island!**


	4. Escape From the Digital Island!

Titano Man: Hello my loyal readers! It's been a while since I last updated this story. (I took a week off from writing so I could relax and do a few things that I wanted to do.)

Karly: So now that you're rested, tanned, and ready to go... Can you get to work already?

Titano Man: Alright, alright! Geez! Okay so the last time we saw our heroes they had just finished the first part of the test and are now on their way to start the second test. So let's see what they're in for shall we? Someone roll the disclaimer!

Roxas: Titano Man XIII does not own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, or Final Fantasy in general, Pokémon, or anything else that he decides to put into this story. The only this he does own are all of the OCs that appear in this story with the exception of Shinryu Verus, who belongs to The Unknowing Herald.

Titano Man: Thank you. NOW ON WITH THE SHOW!

* * *

><p><strong>Final Kingdom Arc 1 Kingdom Hearts Academy<strong>

**Narrator****:** **Last time, it was announced that the entire student body were to take a special test that would determine whether or not that they would continue to attend Kingdom Hearts Academy. Our heroes were able to pass the first part of the three part test and are now making their way towards the second part. Will they pass? Or will they fail? Keep watching to find out.**

The scene opens to the large virtual room located in the Digital World. The students had just been given the explanation for the rules of this part of the test and were now making their way to the door that would lead them to the second testing site.

"So... Are you ready to get out there?" Karly asked as she stood in front of the doorway that led to the testing site and looked at her friend. The world beyond the doorway was concealed by a bright white light.

"Yeah, I am." Xion said with a nod as she stood next to her friend. "Are you?" she asked as she looked at the brunette.

"What do you think?" the girl asked in a playful tone.

"Yeah, that's a silly question." Xion said with a sheepish smile. "I want to wish you good luck out there." she said encouragingly.

"Hah! Like I need it! Do you know who you're talking too?" she asked rhetorically white an amused smile grin on her face. "I'm so kick-ass that I can do this challenge with _both_ of my hands tied behind my back!" she said with a confident smirk on her face.

"I don't doubt it." the ravenette said with a sweatdrop. "Just don't get yourself killed out there." she said as she walked through the doorway.

"I should be telling that to you!" Karly said as she followed her friend.

The two walked through the doorway and were blinded by the bright white light.

The light faded to reveal that the girls had walked into what looked like a dense fog.

"Ugh, why's it so foggy here?" Karly asked as she tried to fan the fog away.

"I don't know. Maybe it's part of the environment?" Xion asked as she looked about for any of the other students.

Within minutes the fog lifted to reveal an endless blue expanse dotted with large, fluffy white clouds and the sun shining brightly above them.

"Uh, where's the island?" Karly asked in confusion as she looked around.

On a hunch, Xion looked down and her eyes widened in shock. She looked back to the brunette and tapped her shoulder.

"What?" the girl asked as she looked at her friend.

Xion said nothing as she pointed down towards their feet.

Karly arched an eyebrow in confusion before looking down.

The camera zoomed out to show that both girls were standing in mid-air.

The scene then froze to show the name of the episode.

**Escape from the Digital Island!**

The two girls gave out terrified squeaks as they hugged each other.

They screamed as they began to plummet to the ground.

**Play an Awesome Anime Opening!**

* * *

><p>Down on the ground the student body was recovering from the unexpected fall they all just had.<p>

They had all landed in some sort of cove that was closed off from the rest of the island by three large gates.

The first gate lied to the gate lied to the east end of the cove. It resembled a Japanese arch and was green in color with the kanji for beach on the top.

The second gate was to the northwest end of the cove arching over a path and was flanked by two steep cliffs. It resembled a Japanese arch and was yellow in color with the kanji for hills on the top.

The final gate laid to the north most end of the cove and sat before a dark forest. It too resembled a Japanese arch and was red in color with the kanji for forest on the top.

To the south lied the vast blue ocean.

"Ouch..." Sora said with a groan as he sat up.

Like the rest of the student body, he wore a black body suit with glowing light blue circuitry covering it and the logo for Team Light on his chest. He wore a Disk Wars competition helmet on his head with a visor over his eyes. On his back was an Identity Disk.

"Sora!" a female voice called out from behind him.

He turned around to see Kairi running up to him with Naminé following right behind her.

Kairi wore the standard form fitting Team Light uniform with the glowing light blue curled heart and crown on her chest. She also lacked a helmet on her head.

Naminé wore a black, form fitting body suit with white circuitry accentuating her curves and a glowing white Nobody emblem. She too lacked a helmet.

Sora blushed at seeing his crush in such a tight and form fitting suit.

"Are you okay?" the redhead asked as she looked at her friend.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He said as he stood up and dusted himself off. "Are you okay Kairi?" he asked in concern.

"I'm fine Sora." she said with a nod and a smile.

"Hey! It looks like you guys are okay." a familiar male voice said as Lea, Roxas, Myde, and Ienzo walked up to the group.

The four of them wore the Team Twilight uniform with a few subtle differences between them.

Roxas wore a normal black body suit with glowing white lines and a glowing Nobody emblem on his chest. He wore the same type of helmet as Sora.

Ienzo, Lea, Myde all wore the standard uniform for Team Twilight though they all lacked helmets.

"Axel!" Sora said with a grin and a wave.

"Yo!" he said with a lazy wave.

"Huh, that's weird...?" Myde asked as he looked around. "She's not here." he said with a small frown.

"Who's not here?" asked Kairi.

"Karly, that's who." said the musician. "We'd thought that she would be the first one here." he said as he scratched his head.

"Now that you mention it Xion isn't here either." Naminé said as she looked around.

"Well I'm sure that they'll turn up sometime and does anyone else hear screaming?" Sora asked as he looked around.

Everyone looked around trying to locate the source of the screams.

Myde then looked down and noticed that his shadow was somehow getting bigger as the screams were getting louder.

He looked up and saw both Karly and Xion falling towards him.

"Uh oh... Gyaaaaa...!" he cried out as the two girl crashed into him and kicked up a huge cloud of dust.

**Demyx Owned****: 4**

The dust cloud settled down and revealed an unharmed Karly and Xion sitting on a groaning Myde's back.

"Ugh, are you okay Karly?" Xion asked as she held head.

"Yeah, I'm fine." the brunette said as she shook her head to reorient herself.

"I'm amazed that we were able to survive that fall." Xion said as she and her friend stood up.

"Maybe these suits also double as plot armor?" the girl asked with a shrug.

"Plot... Armor...?" Xion asked in confusion.

"Never mind." the brunette said dismissively.

"Glad to see you two finally join up with us." Lea said as he put his hand on his hips.

"Sorry." Karly said with a shrug. "We were too busy falling from a mile high to get here on time." she said with a blank look.

"Speaking of which..." Xion interjected. "What broke our fall?" she asked as she arched her eyebrow.

Just then an agonized groan was heard behind them.

The two turned around and saw Myde lying on the ground twitching in pain.

"Oh, it's Demyx. Thanks for breaking our fall man." Karly said with a grin as she gave the blond musician a thumbs up.

"...No problem Karly..." he said with a groan.

"Sorry for falling on you Demyx." Xion said apologetically.

"...It's okay... I can't have two cute girls like you and Karly get hurt after all." he said with a smile as he stood up and dusted himself off.

"So, are we all here?" Lea asked as he looked around.

"Most of us are here." Ienzo said while looking up from his Lexicon. "It appears that everyone is beginning to split off, most likely to form parties so they won't have too much trouble with the routes once the second test begins, which remind me, I'll have to find people that I can trust to aid me during this challenge." the steel-blue haired man rambled as he held his chin in thought.

"That's sounds like a pretty good idea Zexion." Lea said as he pat the man on the back bringing him out of his thoughts. "Let's all form teams so we won't have to worry about failing or anything." he said with a small grin.

"Right, that sounds like a great idea!" Sora said with a nod. "Hey Kairi, do you and Naminé want to form a party?" Sora asked hopefully.

"Actually Sora, Naminé and I are going to tackle this on our own." Kairi said with an apologetic smile. "I hope you understand."

"It's okay Kairi. You want to prove your own strength, I understand." he said with a halfhearted smile. He was hoping that she would say yes so that he could finally get them out of the friend zone. But alas... it wasn't meant to be...

"That's okay Sora." Lea said as he pat the boy on the back. "'Sides... I think I see your friends Riku and Ven heading this way." he said pointing off towards one part of the shore.

Sure enough both boys were making their way towards the group.

Ven looked just like Roxas. The only difference between the two was that Ventus wore the Team Light logo on his chest.

Sora perked up a little. At least he would fight alongside his friends.

Just then Tron's voice came from out of thin air.

Attention, duelists! My hair- wait... we already did that joke. Never mind." he said sound almost sheepish.

Everyone shared a collective sweatdrop at the AI's slip up.

"Ahem... I am sure that you have all regained your bearings by now and are in the process of forming parties for the routes that you will choose." he said as several groups had already been formed. "Now I feel that I must warn you again that this part of the test is quite dangerous and that underestimating the routes that you will take may very well cost you not only a passing grade but also your lives." he said causing several students to gulp in nervousness. "Now if you may direct your attention towards the gates that you see around you." he said causing the students to look around.

The camera took a shot at each gate before looking to the sky.

"These three gates will lead you to the tree locations on this island. Your goal is to pick one of these paths and make your way through them as quick as possible before the three hours expire." he said as the students kept looking up at the sky.

Xion looked at each gate with a determined look on her face. After a minute of thinking about her path she came to a decision and looked at the hills gate.

"Now I feel that I should mention that there will be bonuses awarded to the first few students or teams that make it to the temple at the top of the mountain."

"What kind of bonuses?" Xion couldn't help but ask as she looked to the sky.

"Well, not only will you receive bonus points towards your overall score, but you will also be given several advantages and perks that will be of great benefit to you in the final part of the test." he said causing murmurs to erupt within the student body.

Many students resolved to be the first ones to reach the mountain.

"Is there any kind record that can be broken here?" Karly asked suddenly causing her friends and many other students to stare at her curiously.

"...Yes there is a record for this course... But it is very difficult to beat. None had broken it ever since it was set years ago." Tron said guardedly.

There was a reason why the record was never beaten.

"What's the record." the brunette asked in a serious tone.

"..."

"Well...? I'm waiting...?" Karly asked expectantly.

Tron seemed to give a sigh and responded.

"Forty-five minutes on the easy course. Thirty-four minutes and fifteen seconds on the intermediate course. And..."

Everyone waited with baited breath for the record.

"...And fifteen minutes exactly on the hard course." he said with a grimace.

A wave of gasps and shocked murmurs passed through the student body.

Karly smirked excitedly. She knew just which record she was going to break.

"Are there any other questions?" the program asked wanting to know if there were any other details he should go over.

No one had any questions to ask.

"If that is all then please choose a path and prepare for the test to begin." he said before he ended the transmission.

The students began to murmur and as they moved to one of the three gates.

As it stood Ienzo, Myde, Naminé, Kairi, Terra Branford, and the boy known as Shinryu Verus chose to take the easy route since they would most likely face easy random encounters on the way. Seifer, Fujin, and Raijin (The three of them wore Team Dark uniforms without helmets) stood in front of the hard route because Seifer said that it would be a piece of cake as long as they worked together. And Sora, Riku, Ventus, Lea, Roxas, Xion, and Karly stood in front of the intermediate gate ready to tackle its challenges.

By now each gate had a rather large crowd standing in front of them.

Karly and her friends stood at the very back of the crowd and she stood a little off behind them ready for the test to start. She stood far enough from them so she wouldn't get caught up with the rest of the students when they ran in yet she stood close enough to them so that they didn't think that she would ditch them while they were waiting.

"Is everyone ready?" Tron asked as he looked at the crowds from above.

Karly got ready to move as soon as the test started.

"The second phase of the test will begin in five..."

Terra took a deep breath, getting ready to move at a moment's notice.

"Four..."

A look of pure determination came onto Xion's face as she stared at the gate before her. Lea gave her a pat on the shoulder and gave her a laidback grin. She smiled at him and looked back to the gate with a determined smirk.

"Three..."

Seifer smirked and hit his palm with his fist as Raijin stood to his left with his arms crossed over his chest and as Fujin stood calmly to his right.

"Two..."

Karly subtly widened her stance and turned her right foot to face the forest gate.

"One..."

In the physical world the faculty watched silently as the countdown neared its end.

A brief moment of silence permeated the air and made it seem as if it had lasted for an eternity before a loud horn sounded through the air.

Within milliseconds the barriers on the gates dropped and the students raced off into the tree areas.

Karly made her move and dashed to the forest gate as fast as she could.

Xion noticed the brunette race off in the opposite direction towards the forest.

"Karly!" she shouted in shock. She considered running after her friend and pulling her back to the path they all agreed on taking but she quick scrapped the idea since the girl was already halfway towards the gate. She would waste too much time if she chased after her into the more dangerous route alone.

Gritting her teeth, Xion glared at the impetuous brunette as she ran off. '_You better not get yourself killed Karly!_' she thought before running off to catch up with her friends.

* * *

><p><span><strong>With Kairi and Naminé on the Beach!<strong>

**Play Final Fantasy XII OST- The Phon Coast**

The fraternal twins were moving along the long shore of the Phon Coast of Ivalice* at a brisk pace as other teams and students moved as fast as they could so they could reach the end of the route in time.

"Kairi, are you sure that we won't run into anything too dangerous on this route?" Naminé asked as she looked at her sister while jogging alongside her.

"I'm sure Naminé!" the redhead said with a reassuring smile. "The proctor said that this is the easy route so all we're likely to run into are some low level enemies. The only thing that we would really have to worry about here would be how long we'll take getting to the mountain." she said as she pulled ahead a little.

"Okay." the blonde said with a nod as she followed her sister.

Just then several large creatures jumped out of the water and blocked their path.

These creatures were fish-humanoids with scaly blue skin webbed hands and feet with claws and fin-like crests on their heads and backs. These creatures were known by sailors and seafarers as Sahagins.

"...Monsters!" Naminé said in shock as she and Kairi stopped in their tracks.

"Don't worry we can take them easy!" the redhead said as she stared at the aquatic monsters.

The Sahagins charged at the two young teens, intent to make them into their next meals.

But before the girls could do anything someone called out a spell.

"Thunder!" a female voice called out as several bolts of lightning struck the aquatic creatures, killing them and making them explode into data.

"Are you two okay?" the girl asked as Kairi and Naminé had a 'What just happened?' look on their faces.

Both girls turned around and saw Terra Branford standing behind them.

Like everyone else Terra wore a skintight bodysuit. It was dark blue with glowing light blue circuitry accentuating her figure. On her chest was a glowing Team Light logo. She lacked any sort of headgear.

"Those were Sahagins. They're aquatic creatures that are prone to attacking passing ships out at sea." the green-haired girl said as she walked up to them. "We don't have them on my world but I've read about them in books." she said with a smile.

Kairi arched an eyebrow. "You're from another world?" she asked in curiosity.

The girl nodded. "I'm from the World of Balance.*" she said with a smile.

"The World of Balance...?" Naminé asked in confusion. "I didn't know that there was open trading with that world." she said as she looked at the girl.

"There is." Kairi said while looking at her sister. "It just opened its ports to trade about a year ago." she explained with a hand on her hips.

"Oh. So were you invited to attend here?" the blonde asked as she looked at Terra.

The girl nodded in confirmation. "Yeah, I received an invitation to attend here and came on the first Gummi Ship here a few months ago." she said with a small smile.

"I see. Well, thanks for the help..." Kairi said trailing off when she realized that she didn't know the girl's name.

"My name's Terra Branford." the Mage said with a friendly smile.

"It's nice to meet you Terra. My name's Kairi and this is my sister Naminé." the redhead said as she gestured to her blonde twin.

"It's nice to meet you both too." the girl said with a bow. "Hey, I was wondering..." she trailed off as she looked down shyly.

"What is it?" asked Kairi.

"Well I was wondering if you two would want to form a party with me? You don't have to say yes, I would understand if you would rather stick together without having anyone else slow you down or anything!" she said with a blush as she looked down at the sand. She felt very awkward at the moment.

"Sure, I don't see why not!" the redhead said with a grin. "You look pretty strong and I bet that with you helping us that we'll breeze right through this test!" she said confidently.

"I'll do my best." Terra said as she smiled and nodded her head.

"Come on!" the redhead said as she ran ahead.

Naminé and Terra looked at each other before running after the girl.

* * *

><p><span><strong>With Xion and company on the Intermediate Route!<strong>

**Play Final Fantasy XIII OST- The Archylte Steppe**

The party of Sora, Riku, Ventus, Roxas, Axel, and Xion were making good progress through the hills path of the island, which Xion had mentioned that it was modeled after the Archylte Steppe of Gran Pulse*, which was further proven by the teeming wildlife native to Gran Pulse's surface.

"We're making pretty good time." Xion said with a grin as they snuck past a small pack of the wolf-like creatures known as Gorgonopsids as they fought with the fierce Behemoth King. "Already five minutes in and we're already halfway through the Central Expanse!" she said as she eyed the group's surroundings.

A small distance away the girl spotted a group of students making their way through the expanse only to run into a pack of Gorgonopsids led by the giant wolf-like creature known as the Megistotherian.

She grimaced as she watched the predators easily rip into the students.

The fallen students all dissipated into bits of data as they were derezzed.

"If my memory of the virtual map Tron showed us before sending us here was correct then the Font of Namva should be to the immediate west of us." Riku said as he looked at a pass between two high cliffs.

"He showed us a map?" Sora asked as he looked at his best friend.

"The hologram of the island was a detailed map in disguise. And you're right Riku. If we head west then we'll find the Chocobo nesting grounds." Xion said as she pointed to the west.

"Why should we about Chocobo nesting grounds?" Ventus asked as he looked at the girl in curiosity.

"Chocobos are very fast creatures. We'll be able to cover twice as much ground in half the time with them." Riku said as he looked at the boy.

"That sounds like a pretty good plan to me." Lea said with a shrug.

"But won't we need Gysahl Greens to tame them?" asked Roxas.

"There should probably be some in the area. Chocobo usually nest near a large continuous source." Xion said as she looked at the boy.

"Alright then, if we hurry then we'll be able to clear this course easily enough." Riku said as he made his way towards the Font of Namva with the others following after him.

* * *

><p><span><strong>With Karly on the Hard Route!<strong>

**Play Final Fantasy VI OST- The Phantom Forest**

Karly walked through the dark woods of the path that was modeled after Esperia's infamous Phantom Forest.

She walked slowly through the low hanging mist that hugged the ground and reached up to her waist. She was trembling uncontrollably as she glanced around.

The forest was eerily silent. Not even the sound of any sort of animal life could be heard.

The air was still and carried a musk that smelled of rotting wood.

And the tall, black trees with their dead branches blocked out all light making it appear to be night.

Despite the brave front she puts on in front of others Karly got scared quite easily whenever she was alone in a dark place with no one else around.

It didn't help that she felt as if something was watching her every move.

Just then the silence was broken by a bloodcurdling scream.

The girl froze with a terrified expression on her face.

'_Okay! I'm starting to think that upcoming through here was a _very_ bad idea!_' she thought as she glanced around for the source of the scream. '_Come on, pull yourself together!_' she thought as she slapped herself. '_You can sit through slasher flicks without batting an eye! This is nothing!_' she thought as she took several deep breaths to calm her nerves. '_I can do this! I can do this! I can-_'

"Excuse me?" a small voice asked from right behind her.

"EYAH!" the girl screamed fearfully as she jumped several feet into the air.

Karly came back down to earth and looked to where the voice came from only to see no one there.

She held a hand over her racing heart as she panted heavily and looked around fearfully.

"Down here!" the voice said as a small... something jumped up from the mist.

"W-what the hell?" she asked as she looked down at a pair of strange yellow eyes that was somehow glowing through the thick mist.

The thing jumped up from the mist and Karly caught it on instinct.

The... whatever it is was a small ball-shaped creature with yellow reptile-like eyes a large mouth with a predominant snaggletooth upcoming from the left side of its bottom lip, and a short stubby tail. It was covered short red fur with blue horizontal stripes on its back and small blue spinal bumps coming from the top of its head to near the tip of its tail.

"What... the heck are you?" the girl asked in confusion as she looked the thing over.

"I'm Cynderdramon*! Nice to meet you!" the little ball of fuzz said with a friendly grin, revealing its sharp teeth.

"I asked what you _are_, not your name!" Karly said with a twitch of an eyebrow.

"Oh, that? Well I'm a Digimon! A Digital Monster!" the now identified Digimon said with a smile.

'_A __Digimon...? Where have I heard that before?_' the girl wondered as she stared at the odd little creature. "So... Cynderdramon, right?" she asked to which the creature nodded. "Were you the one that's been following me around?" she asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Yeah, I've never seen a Program like you here before! Normally Programs stay away from Digi-Island because of how dangerous it is here!" Cynderdramon said excitedly as his tail wagged about.

"Well I'm not a Program. I'm Human." said the girl.

"Really, that's so cool! I've never seen a Human up close before!" the little creature said excitedly as it stared at Karly in awe.

"Well, it was nice meeting you and all Cynderdra- you know, you're name's a real mouth full! Mind if I just call you Cynder?" she asked the Digimon.

"Sure!" said the little furry creature.

"Well, it was nice meeting you and all Cynder. But I got to get going. There's this big test going on and I have to get to the mountain in less than eight minutes." she said as she looked into Cynder's large golden eyes.

You're going to the mountain?" the little red fuzz ball asked nervously.

"Yeah, do you know a shortcut?" she asked as she leaned on her knees while looking down at the little monster.

"Well, yeah... But it's really dangerous! I rarely go that far into the forest because the guardian lives around there." Cynder said while looking down.

"Hey. I can handle anything this test can throw at me!" Karly said with a confident grin before she turned around and stared ahead into the woods. "Stick with me kid, you won't get hurt as long as I'm around!" she said confidently before walking off.

"The shortcut's the other way!" Cynder said while using its tail to point into other direction.

"I knew that." the girl said before turning around and walking the other way.

* * *

><p><span><strong>With Kairi, Naminé, and Terra at the Phon Coast!<strong>

**Play Final Fantasy OST- The Phon Coast**

The trio was making good headway along the shore as they entered the region of the beach known as the Vaddu Strand.

"Man, that guy wasn't kidding when he said that this was the easy path." Kairi said in a relaxed tone.

The small party had a pretty easy time getting through this route due to the low level enemies and the large spans of time between random encounters. They had made it to this part of the beach in less than twenty minutes!

While the trip had been relatively easy up to this point Terra couldn't help but feel anxious as the three made their way to the Caima Hills. It had been _too_ easy so far. She thought about the path they had to take so far.

They went through the Reseta Strand was simple enough, but the path to the Pora-Pora Sands had been blocked off so they had to go through the Mauleia Strand. But then they saw that the path from the Mauleia Strand to the Hakawea was blocked as well and the path to the Pora-Pora Sands was open so they went that way. From there they were forced to go from the Hakawea, to Cape Tailan and take the southern path to reach the Hunter's Camp, which was empty, then all other routes were blocked so they had no choice but to came here into the Vaddu Strands. She had a feeling that they were being herded towards something. But the question was what?

Terra was pulled out of her thought when she heard music upcoming from nearby.

"Hey, does anyone else hear music?" the green haired girl asked as she stopped and looked for the source of the music.

Kairi and Naminé stopped and listened as well.

The mellow sound of a stringed instrument was heard upcoming from behind a nearby rock.

The trio looked at each other before moving towards the boulder.

They moved to the other side and saw the Familiar faces of Ienzo and Myde.

"Ienzo, Demyx! It's you!" Kairi said excitedly as she looked at the two men.

"Hello Kairi. I'm glad to see that you and Naminé have made it this far." Ienzo said without taking his nose out of his Lexicon.

"Yo! It's nice to see that you two made it here." Myde said with a smile and a wave. He then noticed Terra. "Who's your friend?" he asked while looking at the girl.

The green-haired girl became shy and looked away. She hated her inherent shyness. It sometimes made it hard to meet new people.

"This is Terra Branford. She's been helping us get this far." Kairi said as she put a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"I don't mean to be rude..." Naminé said tentatively. "But why aren't the both of you farther ahead." she asked with her hands behind her back.

Both Kairi's and Terra's interests were peeked.

Ienzo said nothing and simply pointed to the path leading to the Caima Hills.

The three looked towards the path and saw a large, sand colored, spiked, boulder blocking the path.

"A giant boulder...?" Kairi asked in confusion.

"Watch." was all the steel-blue-haired man said as his book disappeared in a flash of slight.

Just then a small group walked up to the boulder. They stood there for several moments trying to figure out how to get passed it. Ultimately they opted to climb over it and used the spikes to give them leverage.

Just then the 'boulder' shook and rose from the ground.

The boulder was in fact a giant tortoise-like creature. It was large with a sand colored hide and a grey underside and claws. It had two long forearms with and two hind legs, each with three digits and a muscular tail. Its head was reminiscent to that of a snapping turtle's with spike-like protrusions coming from the back of its head and it had bright blue eyes. Its shell was sand colored and was covered in large spikes.

It shook the students off its back and turned around to glare at them.

"Shell Phalanx!" the monster shouted as the spikes on its back glowed white.

The spikes fired like missiles and struck the students causing them to be instantly derezzed.

The three girls gulped audibly at the sight. Suddenly this test didn't look so easy.

Suddenly a whistling sound was heard and the five students looked up to see a stray spike missile heading straight for them.

"Incoming!" Myde shouted as he promptly ran out of there dragging Ienzo with him.

Kairi and Naminé jumped away from the blast zone.

Terra tried to run but ended up twisting her ankle when she turned to run.

She looked up to see that the spike was too close for her to set up a barrier in time.

"Look out!" someone shouted as a figure stood in front of the missile and erected a barrier just in time. The Projectile struck the barrier and exploded.

"Are you alright?" the figure asked as they looked down at the girl.

Terra opened her eyes and saw a young man of Caucasian descent with shoulder length brown hair and brown eyes. He wore a dark blue bodysuit with glowing light blue circuitry and a glowing curled heart with a small crown on top of it, signifying him as a member of Team Light. It was the mysterious Shinryu Verus.

The girl stared at the boy in awe and nodded. This was the first time someone had ever saved her life.

"That's good." he said as he held out his hand for the girl to take.

Terra took Shin's hand and he helped her up.

The girl winced slightly but was able to put her weight on her ankle. But just to be safe she healed the minor injury with a cure spell.

"Thank you." she said softly as she looked down, finding the sand more interesting. She couldn't find the courage to look at the boy.

'_Must be the shy type._' the boy thought as he looked as the girl in front of him.

"Hey, thanks for the help!" Kairi said as she and Naminé ran up to the two with Ienzo and Myde trailing behind them.

"No problem." Shin said dismissively. "I honestly couldn't stand by and let your friend get hurt." he said as he scratched the back of his head.

He looked over and saw the large tortoise-like monster lay down and go back into its shell.

"That looks like a pretty tough enemy. Why don't we all work together to beat it." he said as he looked at the group.

"That seems to be a good idea. You look quite strong so perhaps we might have the chance at securing victory." Ienzo said as he held his chin in thought.

"Let's try to come up with a strategy to fight that thing. If it's anything like other tortoise-like monsters then it probably has a high defense stat." Shin said as he looked at the giant shell.

"Alright, so let's strategize." Kairi said as she moved everyone into a huddle.

* * *

><p><span><strong>With Xion and Company in the Archylte Steppe!<strong>

**Play Final Fantasy XIII OST- Pulse de Chocobo**

Sora, Riku, Ventus, Roxas, Xion, and Lea had left the Font of Namva and the Chocobo nesting grounds riding their new mounts. Luckily they had found plenty of Gysahl Greens on the way.

But that was the only thing they left with.

"Come on guys! We don't want to be the last ones at the mountain do we?!" an energetic male voice said from the head of group.

The voice's owner was a young man around the age of seventeen with a slim muscular build. He, like the rest of the student body, wore a dark blue bodysuit with circuitry and emblem consistent to the members of Team Light. He had introduced himself as Bartz Klauser an explorer from the world dubbed Planet R*.

"He's an energetic one." Lea said as he rode his Chocobo.

"He's a lot like Sora and Ven." Riku said as he rode his Chocobo through the Northern Highplain.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Ventus asked as he looked at the silver-haired teen.

Riku only laughed and rode ahead.

"If we keep going at this rate then we'll reach the Northern Antrepass in no time!" Xion said as she rode next to Roxas.

"How do you know all of this Xion?" Roxas asked as he looked at the girl in curiosity.

"Oh! Well, you see I have photographic memory. So that means that I can remember things from years ago perfectly." she said with a shrug. "A little while ago I decided to memorize the world maps of all of the other worlds. Just in case I would like to visit any of them. I had no idea that this test would happen, but I'm glad that I memorized them all! It's really coming in handy!" she said with a proud grin.

**End Theme**

Within no time at all they reached the Northern Antrepass and were making their way towards the Mah'habara Subterra, an underground tunnel that led to the base of the mountain.

While the group was riding through they were being watched by something from the top of the high cliff wall.

When they got close enough the figure jumped down from the cliff and barred their path.

"What the hell is that?!" Lea said as the Chocobos stopped.

"You guys think that you can just mosey on through here without any trouble?" the figure said in a gruff male voice as it rose to its full height, which made it tower over the party members. "Well then you got another thing coming!" the figure said as it pulled out a large club and stepped into the light.

The figure was a large ogre-like creature with green skin, silver hair, blue eyes, long arms with large hands, large clawed feet, a large gaping maw with many sharp fangs, spike protruded from its shoulders, and two large gray horns with red markings on its head. It its hand was a giant bone club with steel spikes protruding from it.

The Chocobo all panicked and threw their riders off before fleeing the scene.

"What is that thing?!" Sora asked as he and the others stood up.

"I don't know! I've never seen a monster like this in any of the known bestiaries!" Xion said as she stared at the ogre-like creature.

"Of course you haven't seen my handsome mug before!" the monster said as it swung its club. "My name's Ogremon! And I'm a Digimon! I'm gonna be the last thing you annoying Programs are ever going to see!" the now identified Ogremon said as he charged at the group.

* * *

><p><span><strong>With Karly in the Phantom Forest!<strong>

**Play Final Fantasy VI OST- The Phantom Forest**

"Okay, we're here!" Cynderdramon said as it stopped in front of a darkened forest path that led to the base of the mountain.

"Great job Cynder! It looks like we're the first ones here too!" Karly said with a grin as she looked around.

"It looks like someone beat us here." a male voice said from a little ways behind Karly.

The girl turned around to see a familiar looking trio walking out of the forest.

The first member of the trio was a young man with slicked back spiky brown hair and deep azure eyes. He wore a black suit with glowing bright red circuitry and a glowing Heartless emblem on his chest. On his head was a Disk Wars competition helmet.

The second member was also a young man with spiky, bright red hair and bright, emerald-green eyes. He wore a black bodysuit with glowing light blue circuitry and a glowing curled heart with a small crown over it on his chest. On his head was a Disk Wars competition helmet.

And the last member of the trio was a young woman with medium-length snow-white hair that parted at the right with a light-blue ribbon tied into a small bow on a bang that framed the left side of her face and heterochromia: with her right eye being a deep sapphire-blue and the left being a rich ruby-red. She wore a black bodysuit with glowing white circuitry that accentuated her figure and a glowing Nobody emblem on her chest. On her head was a Disk Wars helmet.

"What...?! Aw man! I thought we were ahead of everyone else!" the redhead said with a sigh a he slumped over in defeat.

"We were. She just happened to have taken a shortcut to get here before us." the white haired girl said as she put a hand on her hip.

"Hey I know you guys! You're Aeros, Kokoro, and... Ignis!" the brunette said in realization as she pointed to each of them.

"Glad to see you recognize us Karly." the white-haired Dhampir, Kokoro, said with a small smile.

"How've you guys been since school started?" Karly asked with her hands on her hips.

"We've been well. Though I wish they didn't force us to take this test." the brown-haired teen, Aeros, said with a grimace.

"Tell me about it." the girl said with a roll of her eyes.

Just then another group walked (More like stumbled) into the clearing looking a little worse for wear.

It was Seifer, Fujin, and Raijin!

Seifer and Rai looked very beaten and worn out. Seifer was carrying an unconscious and badly wounded Fujin on his back as he limped along. The teen winced every time he put weight on his right leg.

"Oh, great...! It's you losers!" Seifer said with a scowl as he glared at the group in front of him.

"It's nice to see you too." Karly said with a blank look.

The redhead, Ignis, then noticed the critically wounded Fuu on Seifer's back.

"Hey, is she okay?" he asked gently as he walked up to Seifer to try and get a better look at the girl. Seifer backed up and glared at him.

"Hey, stay back loser! This is none of your business!" he said with a sneer.

A familiar scent then hit Kokoro's nose. Her eyes widened as her pupils went from being round to narrowing into thin vertical slits. She gulped audibly as she began to salivate. "I-I... smell... b-blood...!" she said while panting. It looked like she was trying to keep herself under control.

Aeros glanced at his white-haired friend before looking at the unconscious girl on Seifer's back.

"How severe are her injuries?" the brunet asked as he glared at the blond.

Seifer didn't answer and looked away with a grimace.

But an answer came when Fuu suddenly began to violently hack up large globs of blood.

"Set her down, now! She needs immediate medical attention!" Aeros said commandingly.

"I said back off lamers! We don't need your help!" Seifer said while glaring at the teen.

Kokoro frowned. "Unless you want your friend to die on your back then I suggest that you let us heal her." she said as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"I think we should let them her Seifer. Fuu's not looking so good, y'know." Raijin said as he glanced worriedly at the only female in their group.

Seifer looked back to the weakening girl on his back before sighing. "...Fine! You can help. But if she dies...!" he trailed off leaving his threat hanging.

"Don't worry. We'll do what we can to save her." Ignis said reassuringly.

"You better!" he said as he handed the girl over to the redhead.

Ignis' eyes widened at the state Fujin was in.

Her entire body was covered in deep gashes. There was also a large vertical wound going from her left collarbone to directly over her heart. And there was a large gash going over where her left eye should of been. Her skin was deathly pale and her breathing was very shallow and uneven.

"Shit!" the redhead cursed as he moved a little ways away from the group and set her on the ground. "...Kokoro! I'm going to need your help on this one!" he said prompting the half vampire to come over.

"What happened to her?" Aeros asked after seeing the extent of Fujin's injuries.

"...We got ambushed." Seifer said as he kept watching Ignis and Kokoro heal his friend.

"It wasn't like anything that we've ever seen before, y'know. A strange monster carrying a wicked looking scythe." Rai said shuddering from the memory.

"That thing got the three of us separated for only a minute... Then Fuu screamed and we found that thing about to kill her." he said as he gritted his teeth.

'_Was that the scream I heard earlier?_' Karly thought as she looked at the nearly dead girl.

"We were able to chase it off and get away from there." the tanned teen said with a weary sigh.

"So we decided to hightail it as fast as we could to the mountain." said the blond.

"You were hoping that when you reached the goal that they would be able to heal her." Aeros said as he crossed his arms over his chest in thought.

"Yeah..." was all Seifer had said.

"Well that would have been impossible." Kokoro said as she and Ignis finished healing the girl. "Given how grievous her injuries were you wouldn't have made it to the goal in time to save her." she said while looking at the teen. "Luckily we were able to buy her more time. Hopefully she'll hang on long enough until we reach the goal." she said as she and Ignis stood up.

Ignis picked the girl up in his arms and walked over to Seifer and Rai.

Fujin looked marginally better now. Unless you count the numerous scars on her body and her missing left eye.

"Thanks." the blond said begrudgingly. He was grateful, sure, but he would never admit it to anyone.

The redhead passed the steel-blue-haired girl to the teen and he took her holding her in the bridal style.

"Let's get moving. Things are only going to get harder from here on out. So we should all move as a team." Aeros said as he turned to the path that led to the mountain.

"That would be the best course of action." Kokoro said as she stood next to her friend.

"Yeah, well reach the goal and get Fuu the help she needs in no time!" Ignis said confidently.

"But all of you will have to get passed me first." a creepy voice said from literally out of nowhere.

A creature then appeared before them floating in the air and blocking the path to the mountain.

The creature looked small in stature its features were obscured by the cloak it wore. It wore a hooded, red cloak over a tattered gray cloak. The lining within the red cloak was blue with white pinpricks to simulate stars and strange white symbols of an unknown language. Hanging around its neck in gold and silver chains was a crystal eyeball. Held in its hands was a large golden scythe with a long chain attached to the end. On the other end of the chain was an iron ball with an eye inscribed onto it. The only thing that could be seen from within the shadow casted by its hood were a pair of glowing blue eyes.

"It's the monster that hurt Fuu, y'know!" Rai said as he got into a defensive position.

"I-i-it's Phantomon!" Cynderdramon said as he cowered behind Karly's leg.

"I congratulate all of you on making it this far..." Phantomon said praisingly. "But this is as far as you go!" it said as it brandished its scythe.

"So much for breaking that record..." Karly said with a sigh as she got ready for a fight.

**Narrator****: As our heroes make their way through the second test they are confronted by the mysterious and deadly creatures known as Digimon. Will they overcome this new trial? Or will they fall to these monsters? Find out next time on Kingdom Hearts Academy!**

**End of chapter 4!**

* * *

><p><span><strong>Authors Notes!<strong>

(1): Ivalice- the world of Final Fantasy XII

(2): The World of Balance- the world of Final Fantasy VI

(3): Gran Pulse- The world of Final Fantasy XIII

(4): Planet R- the world of Final Fantasy V (Who comes up with these names anyways?)

(5): Cynderdramon is an original Digimon owned by me.

Titano Man: (Phew!) That was a long one. It's hard writing three different things happening at the same time.

Karly: Well now that you're done here I have to ask... Why Digimon?

Titano Man: Why not? I thought that it it would be perfect for this part of the story. Next up are the mini-boss battles and the end of the second test!

Sora: Wait! Mini-bosses...?!

Titano Man: Play the Teaser!

Teaser

Tortomon: Shell Phalanx!

Shin: Now!

Ogremon: Is that the best you got?!

Xion: You haven't seen anything yet!

Phantomon: Are you prepared for death?

Karly: Are you?!

**Narrator****: Next time. The Battle to Reach the Summit!**

Terra: See you next time!

Titano Man: How do you people keep finding this place?!


	5. Battle to Reach the Summit!

Titano Man: Hello and welcome back my loyal readers! If you're all here to find out what happens next then you're in luck. If not... well do I even have to say it? Now someone roll the disclaimer!

Terra: Titano Man XIII does not own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, or Final Fantasy in general, Pokémon, or anything else that he decides to put into this story. The only this he does own are all of the OCs that appear in this story with the exception of Shinryu Verus, who belongs to The Unknowing Herald.

Titano Man: On with the show! Oh, and any comments about my absence will be nuked. Thank you.

* * *

><p><strong>Final Kingdom Arc 1 Kingdom Hearts Academy<strong>

**Narrator: When we last saw our heroes they were in the middle of the second part of the three part test. In the second test they had to reach the exit that was located on the top of a mountain in the center of the island. They split up along three routes that led to the mountain. Our heroes made good headway along each route and both met interesting people and met up with old friends. But before they could reach the end of their respective routes their paths were blocked the mysterious creatures known as Digimon. With no other choice our heroes prepare for the fight ahead. Will they survive this encounter? Or will they fall? Stay tuned to find out.**

**Play awesome anime opening!**

The scene opened to show an established shot of the data replica of the region of Ivalice known as the Phon Coast.

"So you all know the plan right?" a male voice asked as the camera showed an overhead shot of a small group of six people huddled together.

The group was comprised of Kairi, Naminé, Terra Branford, Ienzo, Myde, and Shin. They were currently coming up with a strategy that could defeat the giant tortoise-like Digimon that was baring their path.

"Yep!" replied the blond known as Myde.

"Affirmative." replied Ienzo.

"Ten-four!" Kairi said confidently with a salute.

Naminé and Terra nodded in confirmation.

"Alright so let's get started." Shin said with a nod and the group separated.

"Alright! Let's do this!" Kairi shouted confidently as she looked at the giant spiked shell where the tortoise-like creature sat.

The screen froze and the name of the episode appeared on screen.

**The Battle to Reach the Summit!**

The scene started back up and the party of six ran towards the giant tortoise.

"So how do we get its attention?" Naminé asked as she looked at the giant spiked shell.

"Maybe we could just ask nicely?" asked Myde.

"Do you really think that would work Myde?" Ienzo asked rhetorically as he gave the musician a blank look.

The blond chuckled sheepishly as he scratched his cheek.

"Well, why don't we-?" Terra said before being cut off by Kairi.

"Hey, wake up!" the redhead shouted as she threw her identity disk at the Digimon.

The disk lit up with energy and hit the shell causing a tiny scratch to appear on it.

The disk returned to the girl and she caught it.

Everyone gaped at Kairi as she holstered her identity disk onto her back.

"How did you know the Identity Disks doubled as weapons?" Shin asked wide eyed.

"I didn't." Kairi said with a shrug.

The large shell then started to shake and the giant tortoise-like Digimon came out of its shell and towered over them on its hind legs.

It growled menacingly at the party. "You woke Tortomon from nap! Tortomon will make puny Programs pay for waking Tortomon up!" the now named Tortomon growled angrily.

"Everyone, get into your positions!" Shin said as he jumped back and pulled out his Identity Disk.

The disk glowed brightly and in a flurry of data-bits it changed into a basic steel greatsword.

The boy looked at his new weapon in surprise but quickly shrugged it off and assumed a battle stance.

"Whoa these turn into weapons?!" Myde said in surprise.

Ienzo facepalmed. "Of course Myde. How else could I have summoned my Lexicon or you could summon your sitar?" he asked rhetorically with a sigh. Why did he always have to deal with idiots?

"Oh right!" the blond said in realization as he scratched his head sheepishly.

**Demyx Owned: 5**

Without any further ado the rest of the party drew their Identity Disks and they changed into weapons.

For Ienzo his disk turned into his Lexicon.

For Myde his disk changed into his sitar, Arpeggio.

For Terra was a simple lightweight sword with a narrow blade.

For Kairi was a lightweight shortsword.

And for Naminé was a simple Mage's staff.

With that everyone got into their positions with Kairi, Terra, and Shin in the front while Ienzo, Naminé, and Myde supported them from the back row.

"Let's go!" Kairi said as she got into her battle stance.

The camera then had a shot of Tortomon standing on all fours in front of the party and roaring before doing that awesome battle transition thing.

**Play Final Fantasy I OST- Inside of a Boss Battle/Mini Boss Battle**

The battle kicked off with Ienzo casting slow on Tortomon.

A blue aura covered the Digimon and its moves became much more sluggish.

Kairi then dashed at the creature and hit it with two slashes from her sword which barely did any damage to the creature.

Myde then strummed his sitar and a blast of water hit the giant tortoise causing minor damage.

Tortomon then reared its right forearm back and swung at Shin.

The brunet dodged the attack and struck back causing some damage.

Naminé then cast protect several times until each member of the party had the spell on them.

Terra then cast blizzard on the monster causing a lot of damage.

Tortomon growled and glared at the students.

Shin then dashed at the creature and gave a heavy slash at its head causing it to cry out in pain.

Ienzo then casted a spell on Tortomon but it apparently had no effect on it.

"Dance, water, dance!" Myde said as he strummed his sitar and summoned a series of water pillars and sent them at the Digimon.

Tortomon growled angrily and the spikes on its back glowed white. "Tortomon angry! Shell Phalanx!" it shouted as the spikes on its back shot out towards the party like missiles.

The missiles struck the ground where they stood and kicked up a lot of debris.

When the dust settled the party was no longer there.

Tortomon was about to gloat at its apparent victory when a voice called out.

"Sorrowful waters, Flood!" Terra called out as a massive geyser erupted from beneath giant creature, launching it into the air for a few moments before it came crashing to the ground on its belly.

The giant tortoise shook its head to reorient itself and noticed the party standing several meters away from it.

The 'spell' that Ienzo had cast on the Digimon before was actually an illusion that made it think that it had defeated them. This was all so they could move away so they could lure it further onto the beach.

"Hey, big guy! You missed us by a mile!" Kairi said tauntingly as she pulled down her lower left eyelid with her left index finger and stuck her tongue out at the creature.

I tick mark appeared on the Digimon's head as it glared at the group. "Nobody makes fun of Tortomon and gets away with it!" the monster shouted as it charged at the party at great speed.

"Whoa that thing's fast!" Myde said surprised by the monster's speed.

"Get ready everyone!" Shin said as the Digimon approached them.

The monster stopped in front of the group and reared its foreleg back to strike at them only for it to sink halfway into the sand.

"The pitfall trap worked!" Terra said with excitement now that the weak spot had been exposed.

"It's underbelly had been exposed!" Kairi said excitedly at their opening.

"Now! Attack!" Shin called out as he dashed towards the creature.

Nmainé then casted bravery on Shin, doubling his attack power.

Kairi, Terra, and Shin unleashed several powerful combos on Tortomon's exposed underbelly while Ienzo, Naminé, and Myde supported them with their magic.

"This is... the end!" Shin shouted as he finished a combo by stabbing his sword into the creature's chest.

**End Theme**

There were several flashes of light before Tortomon began to disintegrate into bits of data that floated into the sky before fading away.

The Digimon gave a defeated roar as it faded away.

"We beat it!" Kairi said jubilantly as she jumped into the air with her arms raised up.

"Now we can advance to the mountain." Terra said with a smile.

"Let's hurry then." Shin said as he looked to his fellow party members.

They all nodded to each other and they ran towards the path that led towards the mountain in the center of the island.

* * *

><p><span><strong>With Xion and company in the Archylte Steppe!<strong>

We find Xion, and her friends Roxas, Lea, Sora, Riku, and Ventus along with their temporary party member Bartz Klauser preparing for battle.

Standing before them was the large Ogre-like Digimon known fittingly as Ogremon.

The creature glared at them with its bone club in hand, ready to swing it at any given moment.

"Get ready everyone. This guy looks tough." Riku said as he got shifted into a defensive position.

"Hmph, You programs think that you can just waltz through here like you all own the place, huh?!" Ogremon asked with a growl. "If you squirts think that you can just come over here and try to boot us out then you got another thing coming! My name's Ogremon, and my handsome mug is going to be the last thing any of you will ever see!" the monster said as he brought his free hand up to his mouth and blew a sharp whistle.

Suddenly a swarm of small slug-like creatures, which were actually Digimon known as Numemon, surrounded the party.

The Numemon were ugly, smelly creatures with sickly-green, mucous covered skin with purple spots littered along their backs. They had giant mouths with straight teeth and long, giant tongues hanging out. They had short eyestalks with large, bloodshot red eyes. These creatures were regarded to be among the weakest of Champion level Digimon, barely surpassing a Rookie in strength.

The Numemon babbled and slobbered as they surrounded our heroes.

"Gross!" Xion said as she backed away from the disgusting creatures.

"Ugh, they smell like they're from a sewer!" Lea said as he covered his nose.

"Yeah, they're not the smartest or most clean smelling Digimon out there but they sure do make great grunts. Get 'em boys!" Ogremon said as he said pointed at the group.

"Yes boss!" the slug-like Digimon said with a salute before charging at the party.

Within moments the party pulled the Identity Disks off their backs and in a flash the disks turned into weapons.

Bartz held a basic steel sword.

Lea's disk split into two and became his trademarked twin chakrams.

Sora's disk turned into a generic short sword with a black Hidden Mickey symbol on the hilt and a blue handle. The pommel was simple and golden in color. It was commonly known as the Dream Sword.

Riku's disk became a curious looking a falchion-esque sword, with a red, purple and blue blade shaped like a demonic wing. Its handle bared an eye of darkness, and the handle itself consisted of dark braids. This dark-themed weapon was called Soul Eater.

Roxas' disk changed into a generic short sword with a white silhouette of his X-shaped zipper piece on the hilt and a white handle. The pommel was black in color.

Ventus' disk turned into a basic short sword modified to be held in a reverse grip.

Xion's disk changed into a gold and silver palette swap of Sora's Dream Sword with the silhouette of a Thalassa Shell on the hilt.

Xion looked at the new weapon in awe. '_Okay, that was cool._' she thought with a small smirk before assuming her battle stance, which was a mirrored version of Roxas' and Sora's stances, suggesting that she might be left handed.

**Play Final Fantasy XIII OST- Desperate Struggle**

Xion slashed at one of the Numemon easily cutting it in half.

"Burn baby!" Lea called out as he set several of the slug-like creatures on fire.

"Sonic...!" Sora shouted as he started dashing around the field slashing the smelly Digimon as he passed them. "Rave!" he said finishing the technique as he dashed past several Numemon. Whichever ones that weren't destroyed were dazed by the attack.

Ventus was hitting the slugs with a flurry of strikes, moving, dodging, and striking like the wind itself.

Riku slashed away at the weak monsters without any trouble at all.

Roxas was doing well fending the creatures but he had to dodge the many turd bombs that were thrown at him.

Bartz was fighting like a pro against his portion of the Numemon. He looked as if he was dancing around him as he cut away at their numbers.

After several minutes all of the pesky Numemon had been dealt with, leaving only Ogremon left. But he was nowhere to be seen.

"Where did he go?" Xion asked as she looked around for the Digimon.

She then noticed a large shadow covering her.

"Right here!" Ogremon shouted as he swung his club at the girl, intending to crush her head.

The ravenette was able to raise her sword in time to block the attack. The creature's strength was enough to send the girl to her knees.

"Is that the best you got?" the green giant asked tauntingly.

"You haven't... seen anything yet!" the girl said with a grunt as she started forcing herself back into a standing position. She pushed away and rejoined her party.

**Battle Info: Defeat Ogremon!**

The real battle kicked off with Sora and Riku running at the monster.

Sora jumped into the air and attempted an overhead slash with his sword but the monster blocked it with his club leaving him open for Riku to hit him with a fast three-hit combo.

"Yeowch! Why you little bastard!" Ogremon said before knocking the silver-haired boy back with a strong punch.

"Riku!" Sora said in concern.

"You should worry more about yourself!" the monster said before hitting the boy with his club.

"Hey, no one knocks my brother around like that!" Roxas said as he and Lea charged at the monster.

Lea engulfed his chakrams in fire and threw them at the Digimon.

Ogremon dodged to the side and avoided the flaming wheels of death.

Roxas capitalized on the monster's momentary distraction and slashed him on the arm.

The ogre bled from the wound as he swung at the blond, who dodged the strike.

Ventus ran in and hit the guy in the face with a flurry of quick strikes.

In a flash of light Bartz's suit gained a more armor-like appearance with a dragon theme and his sword became a lance. He had changed into the Dragoon job class!

The now armored boy jumped high into the air before crashing into Ogremon and striking him with his lance.

The boy jumped away from the monster and in another flash of light his suit returned to normal.

Xion then ran in and struck the Digimon with a powerful combo before landing the final blow onto the monster's head.

"Arrrgh!" Ogremon shouted in pain and he stumbled back. "How in the world could I possibly have lost to a bunch of wimpy Programs?!" he asked himself as he fell to one knee.

"Guess what. We're not Programs. We're Humans!" Roxas said while pointing his blade at the Digimon.

**End Theme**

"Humans, huh? I didn't expect that." the creature said with a chuckle. "Maybe you meatbags have what it takes to take _him_ down." he said as he began to slowly dissipate into data.

"Who's _him_?" Xion asked in curiosity.

"He's the guy that runs this whole island." he said as his body up to his chest dissipated. "Beat him and you just might be able to get out of this place. Don't go losing until then." he said with a chuckle as he faded away completely.

"The way's clear. Let's get going." Riku said as he walked off towards the Mah'habara Subterra.

The rest of the party moved on so they could reach the mountain before time ran out.

'_Him... Why do I have the feeling that this was only the easy part?_" Xion thought worriedly as she walked in the back of the group in thought.

The real challenge has only just begun.

* * *

><p><span><strong>With Karly in the Phantom Forest!<strong>

At the end of the Phantom Forest map, before the path that lead to the mountain in the center of the island Karly, with her new companion Cynderdramon, Aeros, Ignis, Kokoro, Seifer, who was holding an unconscious Fujin in his arms, and Raijin had encountered the dangerous Digimon known as Phantomon. In the background terrified screams could be heard emanating from within the forest.

"Do you hear that? That is the wonderful sound of death..." Phantomon said in pleasure as it listened to the screams. "You've all done well to get this far. But now you will all meet your end." it said as it spread out its arms as it floated in the air before the party. "I will be your guide down the River Styx and shall bring you into the afterlife." the ghost-like creature said as it brandished its scythe.

"Blah, blah, blah. You know I hate preachy guys like you. If you just want to kill us, then say that you want to kill us!" Karly huffed in annoyance.

"Such a petulant child." the reaper said unfazed by the girl's outburst. "I shall open your eyes to the glory of death as I rip your soul from you corporeal body." It spun around to face the mountain. "My lord and master! Grant me strength and accept my tribute to you!" the creature said in a reverent tone.

"Great Will, is this creep annoying." the brunette muttered as she drew the Identity Disk from her back. She had heard that these disks also doubled as weapons. "Cynder I want you to stay out of this fight. I'll handle this creep." she said as she looked at the little creature at her feet.

The little Digimon nodded and hopped off to a safe distance.

In a flash her disk changed into a golden sword. The blade was made to look dented, chipped, and dirty. Its hilt was black with some worn leather grip-straps and a red gemstone in the pommel. This was a sword she had paid someone to forge for her and one she used against Seifer on her first day at the academy. It had no name officially, but she called it The Golden Sword of Battle, after the blade from a cartoon she normally watched on TV.

"You're not fighting this thing alone!" Ignis said as he joined up with the girl.

He pulled out his Identity Disk and in a flash of light it changed into a pure white sword. The sword's appearance resembled that of the fabled Master Sword, where the guard resembled a pair of unfurled angelic wings, though there were four claw-like protrusions coming out of the wings. (Think Reshiram's arms/wings.) The entire blade of the sword was completely white with thin blue lines going down the length of the blade through the middle. The hilt of the blade was white also with two silver bands wrapped around it. The pommel itself appeared to resemble a sort of jet turbine or an unlit torch. In the middle of the guard, near the base of the blade was a striking blue jewel that glowed with power and light. Another flash of light and a plain steel shield appeared in his left hand.

"He's right. It'll be easier to fight this thing in a group." Aeros said as his Identity Disk changed into a large pitch-black scythe. The blade of the scythe and its handle were pitch-black with thin red lines along the edges and center of the blade as well as several others that resembled lightning arcing across the skies going down the length of the pole. At the very top of the pole, where the blade connected, was an object that consisted of large, round, conical and spiked formation, likened to an electricity generator, with a black inner portion and bands on the tip of the outside portion. At the base where the long, curved, obsidian-colored blade met the handle was a large piercing red jewel that glowed ominously with power. Electricity arched all over the weapon.

"Agreed. Don't take on the world alone." Kokoro said as she stood next to the girl.

She pulled out her disk and it changed into a rapier. The weapon seemed to have been beautifully crafted and fit for royalty. The blade was steel colored to look like pure silver with engravings at the base made to look like a tree was growing from the hilt. The hilt and handguard were a pale gold color with four jewels engraved into the guard each colored red, orange, purple, and teal-blue. The handle was wrapped in black leather with a line of blue running down the length of the fabric. Hanging off the end of the pommel was a small length of chain, only three or four links in length, with a small dear token made from sterling silver.

Seifer set Fujin down and joined the group.

"This freak hurt Fuu! I'm gonna make him pay for that!" he said as his disk changed into his signature gunblade.

"Yeah! Nobody hurts one of our guys and gets away with it y'know!" Raijin said as he joined the blond and his disk changed into his bo-staff.

"Aw, I had no idea that you cared so much about me!" Karly said in a flattered tone.

"Shut up! I'm not doing this for you. This is personal." Seifer said as he got into his battle stance.

"Come... I'll help you find peace." Phantomon said as he floated down to battle the party.

**Play Final Fantasy VI OST Battle to the Death**

Karly dashed forward and slashed at the creature with her sword.

Phantomon easily avoided the attack by floating up and away from the girl. The ghost then vanished from view.

"Soul Chopper!" the Virus Digimon said as it appeared behind the girl and swung its scythe down at her.

The brunet turned around with widened eyes as the attack came towards her.

"Not so fast!" Aeros said as he intercepted the attack with his own scythe.

The two scythe wielders were stuck in a blade lock as they glared at each other.

"You only delay the inevitable." Phantomon said as it tried to overpower Aeros.

"Sorry. But you'll find that we're harder to kill than you think." he said as he equaled the Digimon's strength. "Ignis, Kokoro, now!" he shouted before ending the blade lock and jumping away from the monster with Karly in tow.

The redhead and the white-haired Dhampir appeared up in the air behind the ghost Digimon poised to strike.

"Shield Strike!" Ignis said throwing his shield at the creature.

The shield struck Phantomon and spun into its gut causing some damage.

The boy then followed up with a sword slash that knocked the creature away.

As the phantom flew through the air Kokoro appeared above him using her Vampire speed and attacked.

"Smite!" she said hitting the monster with two quickly slashes before spinning in the air and finishing the combo with a downwards sword slash that sent the Digimon rocketing towards the ground.

Phantomon crashed into the ground kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Did that get him?" Seifer asked as he tried to peer through the cloud.

Just then a thick fog rolled through the area obscuring everyone's view of each other.

"It's amusing how to see how you Programs cling to your artificial lives so desperately. But all fail to realize that no one would mourn you once you're gone." Phantomon said menacingly. Its voice seemingly coming from everywhere and nowhere all at once.

"Where the hell are you?!" Seifer shouted as he looked for the Digimon through the fog.

What the boy failed to notice was that the monster was floating right behind him poised to strike.

"Seifer look out!" Raijin shouted as he pushed his leader out of the way as the Virus Digimon swung its scythe down, suffering a mortal wound in the process.

"Rai!" the blond said in shock as he looked at the gravely wounded muscle of his group and his best friend. "Why did you take that hit for me?" he asked as he kneeled down next to his friend.

"You're my boss... I can't let my boss get hurt when I can do something about it." Raijin said with a pained chuckle only to go into a coughing fit.

"Save your breath you idiot!" the gunblade wielder said with a scowl while in actuality he was trying to hide the pain of seeing one of his best friends dying right in front of him. "We'll get you fixed up and back to fighting in no time!"

"Seifer... keep Fuu safe. She'll help you way more than I can." the large teen said as he began to fade away into bits of data. "I can't even hold a candle up to her." he said with a small grin. "Don't give up Seifer. You still have a reputation to keep y'know." he said as he faded away completely.

"Rai!" Seifer said in shock as the last bits of data faded away.

"Do you now see the futility of it all? No matter what you do... you will still die... and you will be forgotten." Phantomon said as it raised its arms into the air as if to bask in the non-existent light.

"You bastard!" Seifer shouted angrily as he charged at the phantom and swung his gunblade wildly.

"Seifer, wait!" Ignis shouted in an attempt to stop the teen from doing anything rash.

The Digimon easily evaded every swipe and countered with a swing of its scythe, cleanly removing the teen's right arm from his body.

"Argh!" Seifer cried out in pain as he held the bloody stump where his arm used to be.

"Now die!" Phantomon said as it prepared to deliver the finishing blow.

"Peek-a-boo!" Karly said as she suddenly appeared before the Digimon and Spartan kicked it away.

The girl looked over her shoulder at the teen kneeling on the ground behind her.

"You're such an idiot. Do you want your girlfriend over there to wake up and find out that you got yourself killed?" she asked as she put a hand to her hip.

"She's not my girlfriend..." the blond muttered as he looked at the ground.

"Whatever." the girl said with a shrug. "Now stay out of the way." she said as she entered her battle stance.

"Let us begin the march towards death... Doom!" the Digimon said as it casted the spell on the only fighters that are left.

An orange counter appeared above Aeros', Ignis', Kokoro's, and Karly's heads starting at sixty and counting down.

"I think that's our cue to wrap this up." Aeros said as he dashed forward with Ignis and Kokoro following after him.

Phantomon twirled the small chained ball in its hand before throwing it at the scythe-wielding boy.

The brunet twisted his body to the side as the chained projectile flew by him, missing his head by a hair. He spun on his feet and continued his dash the instant he righted himself.

Kokoro jumped up and spun in the air unleashing a downward, diagonal slash.

The Virus Digimon barely dodged it in time, only suffering a long tear in its robe.

Ignis spun around scraping the tip of his sword along the ground before bringing it up and releasing a series of pillars of light at Phantomon. "Shining Wave!" he called out as the attack barreled towards his opponent.

The phantom couldn't dodge in time and was struck with the full force of the slight attributed attack.

"Ugh!" the monster groaned as it was staggered from the attack.

"Gotcha!" Aeros said as he went in and hit the creature with a powerful combo. He batted it away with his combo finisher.

The phantom soon reoriented itself and melded into the dense fog.

"Where is it?!" Karly said looking around ready for any attack.

A shadow suddenly appeared over her and she turned around to see Phantomon floating in the air behind her.

"Boo." it said as it looked into her eyes.

"Eyah!" the brunette screamed as she took a wild swing at the monster, which it easily dodged.

"What happened to that bravery of yours?" the Digimon asked tauntingly as it slashed at the girl with its scythe.

Karly jumped back to avoid the attack but received a nasty gash on her right shoulder.

"Damn it!" the girl said through gritted teeth as she held her arm.

"Now die." Phantomon said as he reared its scythe back for the finishing blow.

"Karly!" Cynderdramon, who had been hiding nearby during the battle, cried out as he jumped in between the human and the higher level Digimon. "Baby Fire!" the small creature said spitting a small fireball out at the ghost Digimon.

"What?!" Phantomon said in shock as it saw the baby Digimon jump between Karly and its attack. The spectre cried out in pain as the small fire attack hit it in the face, blinding it.

"Cynder!" Karly said in shock as she caught the little Digimon in her arms. "Why did you do that?! You could have gotten hurt!" she scolded as she looked down at the digital creature with a mix of gratitude and worry.

"I couldn't just sit by and watch my friend get hurt." the little dragon said as it looked down sadly.

"It's alright. Thank you anyways." Karly said with a small smile as she lifted the round little creature up to her face so she could look into his eyes.

Cynderdramon smiled happily seeing that his new friend wasn't mad at him.

"Grr. You little brat!" Phantomon howled angrily as it glared at the baby Digimon with only one eye. "You'll pay for that!" it said as it swung its chained ball at the two.

The long chain wrapped around the girl and bound her and Cynderdramon tightly.

The specter reached out and ripped the In Training level Digimon from the brunette's arms.

"Cynder!" Karly cried out as she watched the ghost hold her small friend by his tail.

Aeros, Ignis, and Kokoro tried to assist the girl but Phantomon stopped them by swinging the bound girl at them with the chain. The chain unwrapped itself around her as she flew through the air.

Karly crashed into the trio with a loud crash.

The four warriors groaned but Karly quickly recovered and dashed at the now distracted Phantomon.

Said Digimon had its back turned to the group as it held Cynderdramon in the air by the tail.

"Let me go!" the little dragon said as he struggled to get out of the ghost's grip.

"Little brat. How is it that you were able to evade my master's eyes for so long?" the Virus Digimon asked as it held the little creature in its grip. "You must be part of the rebellion. Tell me... Where are they?" it asked at it glared into Cynder's eyes.

"I'll never tell you! Baby Fire!" the little dragon said as it breathed a small fireball at the stronger Digimon's face.

The attack hit the phantom in the face causing it to cry out. "Little brat!" it said throwing the little creature to the ground hard.

"Ow!" Cynder cried out as he hit the ground. The small baby Digimon looked up at the other monster.

Phantomon raised its scythe into the air preparing to kill the smaller creature. "Are you prepared for death?" it asked rhetorically.

"Are you?!" Karly shouted from behind the specter.

"What?!" it asked as it spun around and saw Karly in the air about to deliver an overhead strike with her sword, which she had recovered while she dashed at the monster.

The two then screamed at each other, one in fierce determination, and the other in shock and fear. The camera constantly swapped between the two of them screaming several times for a good five seconds. (What they did in the Trunks vs Freeza fight in DBZ Abridged.)

"Take this!" Karly shouted as she hit the monster with a powerful overhead slash.

Phantomon continued to scream as its vision began to split, its left eye moving up while it right eye went down. It slid to about two inches until its entire vision turned into the dreaded Blue Screen of Death. (You know... that screen that pops up suddenly when your old computer suddenly suffers a catastrophic systems failure.)

The scene showed that the error screen are within Phantomon's eyes as it split in half while screaming in a more distorted manner.

**End Theme**

Karly landed on her crouched down as the Virus Digimon floated in the air above her.

Said monster began to glow brightly before inexplicably exploding like the monsters in an episode of Power Rangers.

The dense fog that permeated the entire forest lifted, the screams of terror that had been sounding out throughout the battle had finally stopped, and for the first time since they had entered the forest, sunlight broke through the canopy and illuminated the forest.

"We beat it!" Ignis said with a grin as he got up from the ground.

"Well hopefully things won't get too hard from here on out." Aeros said as he rubbed his right shoulder.

"I have a sneaking suspicion that it won't." Kokoro said with a sigh as she stood up and dusted herself off.

Karly's sword dissipated into data as she stood up and walked over to Cynderdramon.

"Are you okay" she asked with concern as she picked up the small Digimon.

"Yeah, I am. Thanks Karly." the little dragon said gratefully from his place in the girl's arms.

The group made their way over to where Seifer was.

The blond was sitting on the ground still clutching at the bloody stump where his right arm used to be.

"Are you okay?" Ignis asked as he looked at the teen.

"Other than the fact that I'm missing my freaking _arm_ and that losing a lot of blood, I'm just peachy." the scarred teen said sarcastically.

"Heh, right..." Ignis said sheepishly as he sweatdropped.

"Let me help." Kokoro said as she walked over to examine his wound.

Seifer moved his arm and let the girl take a look.

Kokoro's pupils narrowed into thin slits at the sight and smell of blood. She had to shake her head in order to focus.

"This might hurt a bit." she said as she put a hand on his injury.

"What do you-" the teen tried to ask but was cut off when the girl muttered a spell.

"Fire." she muttered as she cast the spell on the injury, cauterizing it.

"Argh! MOTHER *BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*-" he said cursing up a storm.

Karly had to cover where she assumed Cynderdramon's ears were so he wouldn't hear the *ahem* less than pleasant language.

Seifer cursed for five whole minutes before finally calming down.

"Have you finally calmed down?" Kokoro said not at all looking phased by such vulgar language.

Seifer panted for several moments before glaring at the woman.

"I'll take that as a yes." she said calmly as she stood up. "Ignis." she said looking at her red-haired friend. "You'll have to carry Ms. Fujin since Mr. Almasy here doesn't really have the ability to do so." she said as she moved a few loose strands of hair behind her ear.

"Got it." the teen said before moving to the still unconscious girl and picked her up gently bridal style.

A beam of sunlight peaked through the branches above and hit the girl's face, causing her face to scrunch up.

Fujin's right eye opened weakly as she regained consciousness.

"Ugh, what... happened...?" she asked weakly.

"Oh, you're awake!" Ignis said softly as he cradled the relatively petite girl in his arms. "You got hurt when you and your friends got ambushed by a powerful monster. We managed to heal you but you'll still need some proper medical attention." he said as he shifted her into a more comfortable position.

The steel-blue-haired girl looked up at Ignis and distantly wondered why half of her vision was black but that wasn't her main concern at the moment. She saw Ignis looking down at her with a friendly smile on his face; his bright, emerald green eyes alight with relief. The light above them show through his hair, making his spiky red hair glow like fire. 'Did he... save my life?' she thought as she stared at the older teen. She couldn't help but feel a light blush heat up her cheeks.

"Thank you..." the girl said softly as she rested her head against Ignis' shoulder. '_He's... kind of cute..._' she thought as she drifted off back into unconscious.

"Ignis, it's time to get going!" Aeros said as the group began to move towards the mountain path.

"I'm coming!" the redhead said flusteredly as he ran after the others being careful not to disturb Fuu.

* * *

><p><span><strong>With Kairi, Naminé, Terra, Ienzo, Shin, and Myde!<strong>

**Play Final Fantasy X OST- People of the Far North/Servants of the Mountain**

It hadn't been long since the party had defeated Tortomon and left the Phon Coast. They had all made fairly good head way up the mountain, though the raging blizzard they were trudging through was giving them a little trouble.

"How far is it until we reach the temple?" Kairi asked as she used her arm to keep the snow from getting into her eyes.

"Not long I think. Mt. Gagazet isn't that big when compared to other mountains. Our only problem is making it through this blizzard." Shin said as he trudged ahead at the front of the group.

"Maybe we should find shelter and wait for the blizzard to blow over?" Terra suggested as she tried not to slip off the narrow path they were walking along.

"Terra's right! There's no way that we'd make it through this blizzard if we keep going like this!" Naminé said as she walked behind her sister.

"Normally that would be the most logical course of action to take in a situation like this. But since we are under a time limit we cannot afford to waste too much time." Ienzo said as he fought against the fierce winds.

"Ienzo's right. We'll have to keep going." Shin said as he looked back to the rest of the group. "If we find a cave along the way then we'll take a break for a while, alright?" he said while looking at Terra.

The green-haired girl nodded and they trudged on.

"IT'S COLD!" Myde shouted as he walked while shivering.

* * *

><p><span><strong>With Xion and company!<strong>

We find Xion, Roxas, Lea, Sora, Riku, Ventus, and Bartz trudging through the knee high snow drifts of Mt. Gagazet. Their trip through the Mah'habara Subterra was relatively uneventful with only a few random encounters scattered through it.

They were half way up the mountain and the area around them was relatively calm with the occasional strong wind.

"We're almost there guys! It won't be long until we reach the summit!" Xion said as the group walked along.

"I wonder how much time we have left." Sora asked to no one in particular as he walked along with his hands resting on the back of his head.

"Best not to think about that right now Sora. We should just focus on reaching the temple at the top of this mountain." Riku said as he put a hand on his best friend's shoulder.

"Hey, I've been meaning to ask. Where are you, Sora, and Roxas from Riku?" Xion asked as she looked back at her teammates.

"The three of us are from a small place called Destiny Islands." replied the silver-haired teen.

"Destiny Islands?" the girl asked with an arched eyebrow.

"You never heard of it?" Lea asked a little surprised.

"Sorry, no. I... never got out much before moving here." the ravenette said sheepishly.

"Well to answer your question it's a small chain of islands located not too far off of the mainland." explained Roxas.

"Oh." she said in realization.

"Anyways, me, Sora, and Roxas all used to live there when we were little. But then Sora's dad got a job on the mainland and he and Roxas had to move away." Riku said with a melancholic smile.

"I see. So how did you three reunite?" Xion asked curiously.

"Well we all got into the same school obviously. But really, it was all thanks to Karly that we found each other again so quickly." the silvernet said with a small smile.

"Speaking of which... I wonder how the others are doing." Sora asked as he looked out over the island.

* * *

><p><span><strong>With Karly and Company!<strong>

"It looks like we made it out of that blizzard." Aeros said as the party stopped at an outcropping big enough to hold all of them.

"Finally! I thought we were never going to get out of that!" Ignis said in relief as he carried a still knocked out Fujin on his back.

"God, are we almost there yet?!" Seifer asked impatiently as he tried to rub some warmth into his body with only one arm. You can imagine how well that's going.

"Oh shut up. Maybe if you stop whining every five minutes then we might get there quicker." Karly said as she walked by the blond with Cynderdramon wrapped snuggly in her arms.

"How the hell are you not cold?!" the scarred gunblade wielder shouted as he glared at the brunette.

"It's because Cynder here is so warm that I don't even feel cold. I mean seriously! He's like a mini furnace, and he's all mine!" Karly said with a grin as she nuzzled her cheek against the little Digimon's own cheek.

"Aw, Karly, Stop! You're making me blush!" he said bashfully.

"Give me that little creep! I'm freezing to death over here!" Seifer said trying to take the little Digimon away from the girl.

"No way! Hands off!" the girl said trying to keep her little friend away from the jerk.

"Let's keep moving. The summit's not too far now." Aeros said as he began walking up the mountain path again causing the two to stop bickering.

"Who made him the leader?" Karly asked as she watched the older boy and his two friends leave.

Seifer shrugged his shoulders and followed after the trio.

The brunette simply sighed and ran after the group.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Near the summit!<strong>

"We're finally here! Kairi said excitedly as her party made it to a round area near the summit with four paths facing the four cardinal directions.

The paths to the East, West, and South were all trails that led from the three entrances at the base of the mountain while the trail facing north led to the summit, were there final destination lay.

"Good. I think I was about to collapse from exhaustion." Myde said while supporting his weight on his knees and panting.

"That's probably because of the altitude sickness." Shin said as he stopped and looked around at the other paths. He looked to the path that led to the summit and noticed several tracks indented into the snow. "It looks like we weren't the first ones to reach here." he said as he looked to where the path led, which was obscured by dark clouds.

"We aren't?!" Kairi said with disappointment evident in her voice.

"I suggest that we continue moving. It's best to get this part of the test over with as soon as possible." Ienzo said as he looked at the clouds and smelled them. There was something very dark and powerful in the area. They should tread carefully from here on out.

Just then a voice rang out from nearby.

"Alright, we made it!" a young man as he came up from the trail directly across from them, which was the one facing West. It was Bartz. "I even bet that we're the first ones that made it... up... here... oh. My mistake." he said sheepishly as he spotted Shin and his group.

"What's wrong Bartz?" Xion asked as she and the rest of her party reached the area. She looked across and spotted the Phon Coast party. Specifically Terra. "Terra!" the girl called out with a grin.

"Xion? Is that you?" the green-haired Mage asked as she spotted her friend.

"Yeah it is! It's great to see that you were able to make it up here!" the raven-haired girl said as she ran towards her friend with the rest of her party following her.

"I would say the same to you." Terra said as she ran to her friend and met her in the middle, her party doing the same.

"Is she a friend of yours?" Lea asked as he looked the girl over.

"Yeah. I met her on my first day and I've been trying for forever to introduce her to all of you." Xion said as she scratched the back of her head. "So introductions are in order. Guys, this is my friend, Terra Branford! Terra, these are my other friends!" she said with a grin as she gestured to the group of friends she had met through Karly.

Said group gave standard introductions and welcomes to the green-haired girl.

"Hey, where's Karly? I have thought she would be the first one up here?" Sora asked as he looked around for said brunette.

"You got a point there. She would have been here to rub it in our faces that she got here first." Kairi said as she held her chin.

"Did someone ask for beautiful, sexy, and all around lovable, me?" a familiar voice asked as someone came up from the trail facing South.

"Karly!" Xion cried out in excitement upon seeing her friend.

"What took you?" Lea asked with a smirk as he looked at the younger girl.

"Sorry I got caught up with something." the girl said pointing behind herself just as the rest of her party climbed up the trail dragging Seifer with them.

Ienzo quirked an eyebrow when he saw Seifer and Fujin within the group.

"Do you mind explaining why you have Seifer Almasy and Fujin of the Disciplinary Committee in your group?" the steel-blue-haired man asked as he looked at Karly.

"Oh that? They ran into some trouble and we ran into them. Then we got attacked by some creepy, death-obsessed, ghost thing and we had to fight it." she explained with a shrug.

"And where's that big lug?" Lea asked referring to Raijin.

Karly actually adopted a nervous look. "Uh, well, you see, he's-"

"He's dead. The creep we fought before coming here took him down in one hit. Even worse was that attack was meant for me. He pushed me out of the way without a second thought. And even then, I still lost an arm in that fight." Seifer said in a dead tone as he tilted his head down enough to cast shadows over his eyes.

"Oh..." the red-haired pyromancer said feeling awkward.

The air was plunged into an awkward silence as the atmosphere became tense.

Looking for a change of subject, Xion noticed something in Karly's arms.

"Hey Karly... What are you holding in your arms?" the ravenette asked curiously as she tried to peer at the object in her friend's arms.

"Huh? Oh, this is my new friend, Cynderdramon! But you can call him Cynder." the girl said with a grin as she scratched the small Digimon on the head. "Say hi Cynder!" she said holding the monster out.

"Hi!" Cynderdramon said with a toothy grin.

"What the heck is that thing?!" Sora asked in shock. He had never seen a monster like that before.

"I'm a Digimon! A Digital Monster!" the little dragon said with his grin still in place.

"It's so cute!" Terra gushed as she looked at the little creature.

"Uh, who are you guys?" Karly asked referring to Terra, Bartz, and Shin.

"Oh! I'm sorry. My name's Terra Branford. I'm Xion's friend." Terra said with a small blush and a sheepish smile.

"I'm Bartz Klauser. I enrolled here not too long ago." Bartz said with a friendly grin.

"I'm Shinryu Verus. But you can call me Shin." Shin said as he nodded a greeting.

"Nice to meet you guys. I'm Karly. That starts with the letter K you know." she stated with a grin as she hugged Cynder to her chest.

"As fun as this reunion has been, we need to get moving before time runs out." Aeros said as he looked at the large group of people.

"And you are?" Shin asked as he looked at Aeros.

"Aeros Zoromaki." was all the young man said as he and Shin seemed to glare at each other.

"I'm Ignis Bravehart, nice to meet you." Ignis said politely.

"My name is Kokoro Burū." Kokoro said formally.

"Now that we all know each other we should go. We'll have plenty of time to get to know each other later." Aeros said as he began to walk to the trail that led to the summit.

"He's right. And judging by those other tracks we weren't the first ones to get here." Ignis said in a serious tone as he followed his best friend.

Everyone looked at each other for a few moments before going up the trail.

**End Theme**

* * *

><p><span><strong>At the summit!<strong>

It didn't take long to reach the top of Mt. Gagazet. The summit was eerily calm and quiet. Not even the wind stirred.

Everyone starred in awe at the sight of the gigantic structure that lay before them.

What stood before them were the ruins of what might have been a once great temple or shrine.

This structure was known as the Chaos Shrine. A place of worship for Chaos, the God of Discord. This great edifice was said to predate all written histories.

"Whoa...!" Sora said in awe. "So you guys think that the way out is in there?" he asked not once taking his eyes off the structure.

"Most likely. But I'm getting a pretty bad vibe from this place. Keep your guards up." Aeros said as he stared at the massive door before them.

The large party quickly entered the ancient shrine, itching to get this part of the test over with.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Within the shrine!<strong>

**Play Final Fantasy I Twentieth Anniversary Edition OST- Chaos Shrine**

The party walked through the ruined hallway mesmerized by the ancient murals that covered the walls.

"Amazing...! These murals must be several thousand years old!" Ienzo said looking like a kid in a candy store.

"They must tell the story of the War of the Gods." Shin stated as he stopped in front of one of the murals.

The mural depicted a beautiful woman with long, flowing, blonde hair and a white dress. Surrounding her are what appeared to be sixteen crystals and below her were sixteen different warriors, each hailing from the world that were caught up in the war.

"This one depicts the Goddess, Cosmos splitting her heart into sixteen crystals and giving them to her warriors." Shin said as everyone stared at the mural.

"Why did the Goddess split her heart apart?" Kairi asked as she turned to look at Shin.

"It was so her warriors would not be affected by the laws of the war and they would be free to bring an end to the conflict." answered Aeros.

Xion then noticed something about one of the warriors.

"Hey, what's that one warrior holding in their hand?" she asked as the pointed to what looked like a cloaked figure holding an odd key-shaped weapon.

"I believe that's the Keyblade." Kokoro stated as she looked at the image. "It is a powerful weapon said to be gifted only to those with the strongest of hearts." she said as she laid a hand above her own heart.

"That must be one of the first wielders of the Keyblade." Ignis said in awe.

Xion was perplexed. The book made no mention of this Keyblade. Not once! "What world was he from?" she asked curiously.

"Fantasia* I believe." stated Shin.

"Hey, isn't' that the world we live on?" Kairi asked in surprise.

Shin nodded and began to explain more about the story of the war but Xion was only half listening. She turned around and saw another mural mirroring the one they were looking at.

This mural depicted a large demon-like figure sitting upon a great throne. Below the demon were what appeared to be sixteen figures. She noticed that one of the figures was wielding a Keyblade as well.

"There's one over here too." she said while gazing at the image.

Shin turned and saw the mural.

That is Chaos, the God of Discord. He attempted to conquer all of the worlds and plunge them into darkness and ruin. Below him are the Warriors of Discord. It was their duty to spread darkness across the worlds. But the Warriors of Cosmos fought them at every turn. It was a long and terrible war and the aftermath scarred each world." Shin explained as he stared at the mural.

"That one has a Keyblade too." Xion said looking at the Keyblade wielder on the side of Chaos.

"That must be the first Dark Wielder. Dark Wielders are Keyblade masters who had been corrupted by the darkness and spread destruction throughout the worlds." said Aeros.

"How do you know so much about that?" Shin asked the older teen suspiciously.

"I did my research." was all the young man said.

"Guys, let's just get going." Xion said wanting to get out of the hallway as soon as possible. The more she stared at the picture of the Dark Wielder, the more unnerved she felt.

"Right." Aeros said and the party began to make their way to the heart of the shrine.

**End Theme**

* * *

><p><span><strong>At the heart of the shrine!<strong>

They had now reached the central chamber of the ancient shrine with little to no trouble.

The heart of the shrine was a straightforward hall with a large central room lined with half-destroyed pillars dominated by a ramp leading from the doors of the shrine to a throne against the opposite wall. Portraits of the Four Fiends can be seen in the corners of the room.

Before the throne was an odd looking oak door that glowed with a soft light.

"That must be the way out." Shin said as he looked at the door at the end of the hall. '_Why does this feel too easy? Something's not right..._' he thought feeling uneasy.

"Awesome! Let's go!" Bartz said excitedly as he ran towards the door.

"Bartz wait!" Shin said to stop the wanderer.

"Laser Wing!" a deep menacing voice said from out of nowhere. (Think Chaos' voice from Dissidia Final Fantasy.)

Suddenly two wing-shaped energy projectiles flew from the shadows and hit the ground in front of Bartz, causing a small explosion, which knocked the young man back to the group.

"Bartz!" Xion cried out in worry.

"Are you alright?" Kairi asked in concern as the group helped the boy back onto his feet.

"Ugh, what was that?" the Chocobo enthusiast asked as he held his head.

The room suddenly darkened considerably and our heroes couldn't see two inches in front of their noses.

Suddenly a tall figure rose from the ground and somehow defied the darkness by being completely visible.

The figure could be best described as a devil clad in darkness. It wore tight-fitting leather clothes that were blacker-than-black. It had light blue skin and demonic glowing red eyes. Two long, bull-like horns grew from its head and two large tattered wings grew from its back. Its arms were abnormally long, with long, spindly fingers nearly touching the floor. Engraved onto its chest was a large red symbol known as the Mark of Evil.

The darkness lifted and the party once again stood within the massive hallway. The monster stood between them and the door.

The devil-like creature studied them with its piercing gaze.

"You fools dare to trespass onto my domain?! Your journey has come to an end. You will never leave here alive!" the giant creature said as dark energy flowed off of it and it unfurled its tattered wings.

**Narrator****: Just as our heroes reached their goal, they are interrupted by a dark and menacing creature. Will they survive this trial? Or will they fall? Find out next time of Kingdom Hearts Academy!**

**End of Chapter 5**

* * *

><p><span><strong>Author's<strong>** Notes**

Fantasia- The world in which this story takes place. It is all of the Kingdom Hearts original worlds (With the exception of End of the World and The World That Never Was) and all of the Disney worlds merged into one. The pronunciation of the name is of the Latin word for fantasy. Fan-ta-_sia_.

Titano Man: Whoo! And that wraps this chapter up! God it was hard for me to write those three consecutive fights and still keep them short. But I'm fairly pleased with myself.

Karly: The first two didn't really seem exciting to me.

Shin: That's because you weren't in them.

Karly: Shut up! *Glares at Shin*

Shin: *Whispering into Titano Man's ear.* Why's she glaring at me like that?

Titano Man: *Speaks in an innocent tone* I have no idea. Anyways, someone show the teaser!

Teaser

?: How will you fare against my most powerful warriors?

Sora: We're not giving in!

?: Touch of Evil!

Shin: This is it!

Karly: Cynderdramon...?

**Narrator****: Next time, Night Terrors!**

Fujin: Farewell...

Titano Man: Oh come on! You too?!


	6. Night Terrors

Titano Man: Seid ihr das Essen? Nein, wir sind der Jäger! Oh, hey there everybody! Recently I've been obsessed with Attack on Titan, which is amazing by the way! Usually I would avoid overly gory and dark anime but something about that show just draws me in? Maybe it's because the show's epic opening? *Shrugs* I don't know.

Karly: Um, don't you have a story to write?

Titano Man: Oh! I almost forgot about that! When we last left our heroes... Actually let's let our narrator handle that. Roll the disclaimer!

Eren: Titano Man XIII does not own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, or Final Fantasy in general, Pokémon, or anything else that he decides to put into this story. The only this he does own are all of the OCs that appear in this story with the exception of Shinryu Verus, who belongs to The Unknowing Herald.

Titano Man: Thank you. Now on with the show! Wir, sind der Jäger! God, I just love saying that!

* * *

><p><strong>Final Kingdom Arc 1 Kingdom Hearts Academy<strong>

**Narrator****: Last time on Kingdom Hearts Academy our heroes had braved the challenges of the Digital Island and reached their destination, the Chaos Shrine. After a brief history lesson they made their way to the heart of the shrine. With the goal now in sight our heroes prepared to finish the second test and begin the last. But before they could leave the ruler of the island appeared before them and barred their path. They must now face the island's final challenge in order to move on ahead. Will they succeed?**

**Play awesome anime opening!**

The scene opens to show a darkened room in the physical world located within the academy.

The room was filled with the many members of the faculty who were watching the second test take place through several holographic projections.

"This is a very interesting turn out to say the least I never once anticipated the Digimon to actively try to stop the students from passing." Even 'Vexen Doofenshmirtz said as he watched the many teams on the projections.

The scene froze and the name of the episode appeared on the screen.

**Night Terrors!**

"This was not what we had programmed into the software when we set up the test. Something's wrong." Lumaria 'Marluxia' Ikeda said as he held his chin in thought.

"It's possible that this was caused by faulty programming." one of the faculty members said with his arms crossed over his chest.

The man was a tall, broad-shouldered man that wore a dark slate grey guard uniform which was adorned with a curled heart symbol, and white gloves. The front of his jacket sported two rows of gold buttons, silver highlights, and a red and white heart like the one on his gloves. He also wore a belt and knee-high boots, both of which were black. His hair was black and worn in long dreadlocks. He kept most of his dreads tied into a low ponytail, but one dangled over the right side of his face. He also had thick sideburns, thick eyebrows, and violet eyes. His name was Dilan 'Xaldin' Lancet. He was the captain of Radiant Garden's Dragoon squadron and one of the teachers for the unique/special weapons class.

"That's entirely possible." Even said in thought as he watched a group of students getting attacked by a swarm of Bakemon within the digital Phantom Forest.

"Who was in charge of programing anyways?" asked Lumaria.

"I believe that it was Even's job to do so." Dilan said as he closed his eyes trying to remember that name.

"Now hold on! I didn't mess up here!" Even said indignantly as he threw a glare at the large man.

"Then how could you possibly explain the appearance of the Digimon?" Dilan asked as he looked at the scientist.

"If anything, we're most likely dealing with a hacker. And a very good one by the looks of it." the blond said as he looked at one of the projections as he held his chin in thought.

"But that begs the question. Who has the skill to something of this magnitude off?" Lumaria asked as he crossed his arms.

"I have no clue." the man said as he crossed her arms. He then noticed something happening within one of the projections. "What...?" he muttered as he squinted to get a better look at the image. "Can someone pull that up?" the scientist asked as he pointed to the projection.

Lumaria reached out and grabbed the hologram. He then swept his arm out removing the other projections before putting the hologram he grabbed back on and enlarging it for everyone to see.

The image showed Karly, Aeros, Ignis with an unconscious Fujin in his arms, Kokoro, a one armed Seifer, Xion, Roxas, Lea, Sora, Riku, Ventus, Bartz, Kairi, Naminé, Ienzo, Myde, and Shin all standing within the heart of the Chaos Temple right where the exit was located. Standing across from them in the other side of the hall was the tall, black-clad, demon-like creature.

"Would you look at that? Those little squirts made it to the goal." Braig said for the first time as he walked up to the hologram. (For the sake of understanding just assume that every member of the faculty is in the room.)

"That is quite the feat given the track record for most of these students." Dilan said with interest as he watched the scene.

"That's not what I'm talking about you idiots! That creature is the island's boss! How in the world did he escape?!" Even asked in disbelief.

"It appears that our hacker was responsible for this." the Dragoon stated as he crossed his arms.

"Damn it! We'll have to end the test and get those kids out of there!" Lumaria said as he grit his teeth.

"What's so dangerous about this creature? Surely these students can handle it?" a faculty member asked curiously.

"There's a reason that thing was sealed away before the test started. Its difficulty level is too high for the student to handle at this point in time. It's so powerful that it could cause the system to crash." said the scientist.

"What happens if the system crashes?" asked Lumaria.

"If the system crashes then everything within the system will be erased." the man said grimly.

"So you're saying that if these kids fail to stop this thing then they'll kick the bucket?" Braig asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Exactly! That's why we should get them out now!" Even said firmly.

"Belay that." a strong voice said through the room.

Everyone looked to the back of the room and saw the shrouded visage of the school's headmaster. But what shocked them was not that he spoke for the first time since entering the room, but the fact that he didn't speak through any subtitles. His voice was strong, but gentle in tone, with a great deal of power behind it.

Everyone in the room shivered. They had never heard the headmaster speak even once.

"W-what...?" Lumaria stated in disbelief.

"We shouldn't interfere. This is their trial to face." the headmaster said in a calm voice that commanded respect. "Besides..." he said with a shrug. "They are very strong. If they were able to make it this far then they will most certainly prevail." he said confidently. "Now let us watch what they do." he said as leaned forward resting his elbows on his knees and lacing his fingers in front of his face.

The faculty turned back to the projection, still a little shell-shocked that they had heard the headmaster speak.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Within the Digital Chaos Shrine!<span>**

**Play Kingdom Hearts OST- Strange Whispers**

Our heroes were standing off against the large devil-like creature that was blocking their way off of the Digital Island.

The air was tense as the humans and the monster stared each other down.

Finally it spoke.

"I must admit... It is impressive that you were able to reach my domain after braving the dangers of this island." the creature said in a regal tone. "But your journey shall end here!" it said as it raised its arms up.

Everyone tensed and readied themselves for battle.

A dark aura surrounded the monster as its eye glowed demonically. "I am Devimon. The ruler of this island now prepare to die!" the now named Devimon said as it pointed its hands at the group.

The battle transition effect happened and the boss music started.

**Play Kingdom Hearts II OST- Desire for All That Is Lost**

**Information- Defeat Devimon! All party members must survive!**

Everyone drew their weapons and readied for battle.

"So how do we fight this guy?" Karly asked as she got into her battle stance.

"We'll form a party of six. The physical fighters will hold his attention while the spell casters will support us from the back. We'll hold this thing off long enough for the others to get out of here." Shin said as he drew his great sword and readied to fight.

"Sounds like a plan." Xion said as she pulled out her sword.

"Don't do anything stupid! If you think that you can't beat this guy then run!" Aeros said as he backed away from the battle. He'll wait until there's an opening so he could lead everyone out of the area.

"Alright." Xion said with a nod.

"I'll lend a hand. You guys will need all the help you can get." Sora said as he joined the group.

"We appreciate it. Just don't do something stupid." Karly said not taking her eyes off Devimon.

"Let me help too! I'll be able to support you on my own." Terra said as she joined the group.

"Are you sure you can handle it Terra?" asked Shin.

"I trust her. If she says that she can handle it then I say we let her help." Xion said giving her friend a nod.

"Alright I'll trust you on this." Shin said with a nod.

"Thanks. Now let's take this thing down!" the Ravenette said and the now party of five got ready for the battle.

"Meet thy end!" Devimon said as he cast doom on the party.

Dark miasma struck the party and a countdown starting from one hundred, twenty appeared above their heads.

**Info: Stagger Devimon within two minutes or game over!**

Karly ran towards the monster and jumped into the air attempting an overhead strike.

Devimon easily blocked the attack with his hand and sent the girl flying back with a mere flick of the wrist.

The girl recovered in midair and landed on her feet as Sora and Xion ran passed her hoping to double team the Digimon.

"Laser Wing!" the Virus type Digimon called out as its wings glowed with energy. He sent two wing-shaped energy blasts at the duo but they dodged just in time to avoid it.

This time both Karly and Shin rushed in and were able to score a few hits on the monster before he blew them away with a flap of his wings.

Sora and Xion then ran in and started hitting the Digimon with several combos, which annoyed him quite a bit.

His crimson eyes glowed with energy building up within them.

"Demon's Ray!" he shouted as he unleashed a laser attack from his eyes.

"Now, Fire!" Terra called out as she saw her window of opportunity and fired a fireball at the monster.

The spell hit Devimon before his attack could hit the party. The fireball exploded in his face interrupting the attack and causing him to stagger.

The spell that Devimon had cast on the party broke and our heroes were no longer under the threat of an instant game over.

The Digimon glowed with a golden aura as he fell to one knee.

The party wasted no time and began attacking the monster.

Every attack that landed did double the damage due to Devimon's staggered state.

The demon-like creature recovered and blew the party away with a strong flap of his wings.

Devimon then turned into shadows and disappeared.

"Where'd he go?" Karly asked as she looked around.

"Deadly Nail!" Devimon called out as he appeared behind the girl.

The brunnette spun around just in time to see the Digimon rake his claws across her torso.

"Karly!" Xion cried as she saw her friend get knocked away.

Sora gritted his teeth and charged at Devimon.

He used his Sonic Rave attack and scored several hits on the Boss as he dashed by him.

Terra went in and slashed at the monster as well with her sword.

Annoyed, Devimon flapped his wings and blew them back.

He turned into shadows once more and returned to his previous position standing before the throne and door at the back of the room.

"Meet thy end!" He said once more casting Doom on the party. The counter appeared showing one hundred, twenty seconds.

Darkness then started rolling off the monster as four dark splotches appeared on the floor before him.

Four black balls of shadows appeared in front of where he stood and dissipated revealing eight small, strange, creatures.

The first creature was a small, odd looking thing. It was ball shaped with pink skin, large red eyes, a big mouth filled with sharp teeth, and two long ear-like extensions on its head.

The second creature was a small reptile Digimon. It was about two feet in height with blue skin though its face and its belly were white, a large head, two large orange eyes, two stubby little arms, two long legs, a long, blue tail and two long, blue ears.

The third creature was also a small, ball-shaped, reptile creature with red skin, yellow eyes, a short, black tipped tail, black markings under its eyes, four, short, stubby, legs, a white underbelly, and two bat-wing shaped ears atop its head.

The last creature was a small, ball-shaped beast creature with violet fur all over its body with patches of white fur on its snout and the tips of its stout, pudgy legs and it had large orange eyes with large pupils. It had pointy, cat-like ears and a stout tail. It also had admittedly sharp teeth.

The four creatures looked around in confusion.

"It's Koromon, Demiveemon, Gigimon, and Dorimon!" Cynderdramon cried out in shock as he bounced into the air next to Karly.

The girl jumped in shock and looked at the little creature.

"How long have you been there?!" she said clutching her chest.

"How well will you fare against my minions? Touch of Evil!" he said extending his fingers to the four little Digimon and stabbing them with his sharp claws.

Dark energy flowed into the four Digimon and they turned pitch black with their eyes glowing a demonic red as they began to grow and change shape.

"They're Digivolving!" Cynder said in shock.

"Digivolving?" asked Karly.

"Now's not the time for exposition!" Shin said as he prepared for battle.

"Agumon!" Koromon cried as he finished digivolving into a small theropod-type creature.

"Veemon!" Demiveemon cried as he finished digivolving into a bipedal reptile-like creature.

"Guilmon!" Gigimon cried as he finished digivolving into a raptor-like creature.

"Dorumon!" Dorimon cried as he finished digivolving a bipedal beast-type creature with small wings.

"Attack!" Devimon said before vanishing and the four dark creatures charged at the party.

"Pepper Breath!" Dark Agumon called out as he launched a ball of fire from his mouth at Terra.

The Mage jumped out of the way and countered with a blizzard spell.

"Metal Shot!" Dorumon called out as he launched a metal ball from his mouth at Karly.

The girl couldn't dodge in time and got struck in the chest by the attack, knocking her back.

Guilmon tried to swipe at Sora with his claws but the boy kept blocking with his sword, barely able to hold back against the onslaught.

Veemon was keeping Shin busy with a barrage of fists. Luckily the boy found a small opening and was able to bat the Digimon away with a well place sword strike.

Xion rushed in and engaged Dorumon.

The bipedal beast was struck several times with the blade before he retaliated with a strong head-butt to her chest, knocking the wind out of her and sending her to the floor.

The monster was soon upon her down form preparing to end her.

Her eyes widened as she saw Dorumon open his mouth and see a ball of metal form in his open maw.

'_Damn it!_' she thought as she stared death in the face.

"Metal Sho-" the Digimon shouted before he was hit in the head by Cynderdramon's Baby Fire attack.

"Leave her alone!" the baby Digimon cried out defiantly.

Dorumon looked at the little guy and growled.

The Rookie Digimon moves away from Xion and towered over Cynder.

"Hey flea bag!" Karly called out causing the creature to look in her direction, only to receive a fist to the face, which also knocked him away.

"You okay?" she asked as she stood next to the small Digimon.

"Yeah." he said with a nod.

"Good." she said not looking away from the other DIgimon.

Xion ran up next to her.

"You good?" asked the brunette.

"Yeah, thanks to your little friend here." the ravenette replied glancing to Cynderdramon.

"That's good. Now let's take these things down!" Karly said as she brandished her blade and charged forward with XIon following shortly after.

The battle against the four Rookie Digimon didn't last much longer thanks in part to a proper strategy and some support from Cynderdramon.

The four Rookies now lay unconscious on the floor and the party was now scanning the area for Devimon.

A shadow appeared on the ground before the throne and Devimon rose from it.

"Well done. You are all quite formidable. Now die!" the demon-like Digimon said unfurling his wings.

For the next few minutes the battle consisted of Devimon attacking the party with several claw swipe combos, Laser Wing barrages, and laser eye beams.

Our heroes did well to avoid the Digimon's attacks and made a considerable amount of damage on him as well. Although they often got annoyed when he kept spamming his laser eyes and Laser Wing attacks.

"I grow tired of this. You will now know the pain of taking you comrade's life!" he said as he raised his hand and pointed it at Karly. "Touch of Evil!" he called out as his arm stretched towards the girl.

"No!" Terra shouted as she pushed the girl out of the way.

Devimon's claws pierced her chest and began pumping dark energy into her.

"Terra!" Sora cried out in shock.

The evil Digimon removed his claws and the Mage slumped forward while still standing.

"Terra?" Xion asked worriedly.

"Now destroy them my minion!" commanded Devimon.

Terra stood straight and clumsily turned around to face the party. Her once vibrant and ethereal violet eyes now stared blankly at the group as her sabre disappeared in a flurry of data.

"Be careful. We don't want to hurt her." Shin said as he readied for the fight. He _so_ did not want to fight a girl as sweet and innocent as Terra, but he didn't have much choice right now.

Terra then began her assault be launching a barrage of powerful spell at the party, who could barely dodge said spells.

They were surprised by just how much power was packed into each spell as they tried to fight back without hurting the girl.

For several minutes the party tried in vain to snap their friend out of it until Cynderdramon gave out a helpful little tip.

"Devimon's the one controlling her! Take him down and the spell should break!" the little dragon said as he bounced about.

With that information in hand the party refocused their assault on Devimon while fending off the mind controlled Terra's simultaneous attacks.

Shin was able to move passed the green-haired Mage and dashed towards the boss.

He jumped into the air and tried to hit the monster with an over head strike.

He would have succeeded in hitting the Digimon if Terra didn't suddenly appear in front of him in a flash of light Just as he swung down.

"Whoa!" the boy cried out in shock as the girl shielded Devimon from the attack.

"Terra!" Xion cried out in worry as she saw her friend hit the ground... Hard.

"Damn!" Shin cursed as he landed back onto the floor.

the group stared worriedly at their downed friend before she began to shakily pick her self back up.

Terra stood on shaky legs as she stared blankly at her party members.

The girl then raised her right arm into the air and a green glow enveloped her body.

The wound she had received not even a minute ago completely vanished without a trace.

"I am impressed! You hold so much power within you." Devimon complimented with a smirk. "I wonder... How much power do you truly hold within you?" he asked in thought as he looked at the girl in front of him. "Show me... Show me your full power and eradicate these pathetic worms!" he said as he pointed his clawed hand at Terra. "Destroy everything in your path! Touch of Evil!" the monster said as his claws shot out once more and pierced Terra's back.

The girl's eyes widened as Devimon's dark energy flowed into her.

Once his claws left her body a massive surge of power taking the form of electricity, began to wildly dance around her.

She held her head and screamed in agony as the energy grew more rampant.

"Terra!" Xion shouted worriedly seeing that whatever Devimon had done to her was obviously causing her a great deal of pain.

The massive surge of power grew to a feverish pitched before expelling outward and creating a bright white light that nearly blinded everyone present.

When the light finally receded, the party was shocked at the site before them.

Terra Branford still looked overall the same, although with a few subtle differences from her normal appearance. Her hair was not in its trademarked ponytail and looking very wild. Her nails had extended slightly and had sharpened to a nail-like point. And finally a faint white aura surrounded her as excess energy in the form of electricity arced violently off her body.

"Hm... It seems that I couldn't release all of you power." Devimon said with a small frown. "But it matters not..." he said dismissively. "You have more than enough strength to destroy these fools! Eradicate them! Use your strongest attack!" the Digimon commanded as he threw his arm out to the side.

The green-haired girl said nothing as she rose three feet of the ground and floated in the air.

Her friends stared in awe as they saw the girl take flight before them.

She then lifted her arms and held them before her., fully extended with her palms pointed towards the party.

Within seconds fire began to collect in her hands and expanded until the fire ball was nearly twice her size. Despite its size the fireball didn't look all that stable.

Shin's eyes widened as he looked upon the fireball.

"Damn! Everyone take cover, she's casting Flare!" the boy shouted causing the other's eyes to widen.

The party began to move for cover as their possessed friend launched her spell.

They climbed up to the raised platform on either side of the hall and hid behind the pillars just as the spell impacted the ground.

The fireball exploded outward violently causing several pillars fall over and even caused the roof of the shrine to cave in and fall to the floor. The Chaos Shrine shook Violently as if being struck by earthquake for several intense moments as the party shielded themselves from the raging inferno that the spell had caused and from falling debris.

Finally the shaking stopped and Terra slowly descended back to the floor.

As soon as Terra's feet touched the floor, her knees buckled and she collapsed.

The girl began to violently cough and hack up blood as the aura around her faded and she returned to normal.

'_Her body can't handle that kind of power all at once! It's a miracle that she's even still alive!_' Shin thought as he stared at the coughing girl.

'_She's so strong!_' Sora thought in amazement.

'_Note to self... Don't piss off Xion's friend._' Karly thought as she looked over the scorched floor.

Devimon descended to the ground and gazed at the weakened Mage.

"Get up! Get up and finished the job!" he said as he wrapped his fingers around her right forearm and lifted her off the ground.

Terra's head lolled to the side as she panted hard from exhaustion. Blood dribbled down the corners of her lips and stained her chin.

The girl barely had enough strength to remain conscious.

"It seems I overestimated how much you can actually withstand. But that no longer matters... I will put you out of you misery." the devil-like Digimon said as he reached his free arm out to snap Terra's neck and put an end to her.

"Don't you dare touch her!" Xion shouted as she jumped out from the raised platform she had hidden herself on towards the monster.

"What?!" Devimon said in shock as he spun his head towards the girl.

Xion didn't waist anytime as she jumped into the air and launched a launched a flying helicopter kick.

"Tatsumaki Senpukyaku!" she called out as she hit the boss in the face, causing him to let go of Terra and unconsciously release his control over her.

Before the emerald-haired Mage could hit the floor Shin was able to catch her in his arms.

The boy jumped back and the party regrouped.

Xion Pulled out an elixir and poured the healing liquid down Terra's throat. (Nobody's going to question where she got that?)

After about a minute the girl was able to regain consciousness.

"Ugh, my head..." the girl said dizzily as she held her head.

"Are you okay?" Xion said as she helped her friend up and rested a hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah, I think so. What happened?" she asked confusedly.

"You don't remember?" the ravenette asked in surprise.

"No." the green-haired girl said as she shook her head.

"We'll tell you later. Right now, let's beat this thing!" Xion said as she faced Devimon.

Terra nodded and summoned her sabre.

For the next minute or so the party laid into the evil Digimon with all they had, though Terra was still weakened from releasing so much power not to long ago.

Devimon soon recovered and blew them away with a flap of his wings.

"Miserable insects! Feel my wrath!" he said as he unleashed a barrage of Laser Wings.

Our heroes evaded a good amount of the attack though they did receive some damage.

"Hey Devimon take this, Baby Fire!" Cynderdramon shouted as he bounced towards the demon and unleashed a small fireball from his mouth at the stronger Digimon.

Devimon stretched out his hand and pierced through the fireball, grabbing the little creature with his claws.

The little dragon squirmed in his grasp as he glared at him.

"Such a pathetic little creature. I will end your existence here." Devimon said preparing to crush Cynderdramon into nothingness.

"Hey ugly, over here!" Karly shouted as she charged at Devimon, causing him to shift his attention to her.

The girl jumped into the air and attempted an overhead slash but Devimon's free hand shot out and grabbed the girl.

"Foolish child! Know the price for your hubris!" he said before shocking the girl with a strong current of electricity. A wicked smirk stretched across his lips as the girl screamed in agony.

"Karly!" Xion cried out as she watched her friend get electrocuted.

"K... Karly..." Cynderdramon said as he was slowly being squeezed to death by Devimon's bony hand. '_She did so much for me... I can't let him hurt you like this. Ever since we met... I felt that there was something familiar about you. As if we were meant to meet. No matter what Karly..._' he thought with his eyes squeezed shut before snapping them open, showing determination and a strong fire. "I'LL PROTECT YOU!" he shouted before he began to glow brightly.

"What?!" Devimon said in shock as his eyes widened.

"Cynderdramon digivolve to..." the small Digimon glowed brightly as he began to change shape.

Cynderdramon's small, ball-shaped body began to elongate and widen until he was roughly around 5'10" in length from snout to tail. Two long powerful legs sprouted from his body as well as two long arms with four fingered hands. His head took on a theropod shape and the spinal spikes extended, starting from the base of his skull to near the tip of his tail.

"No! Stop!" Devimon cried as he tried to crush Cynder. But just as his hand nearly closed over the creature, it was forced open and the smaller Digimon fell to the floor.

Cynderdramon stood up and roared as the light faded, revealing his features to all. He was a bipedal, theropod-like Digimon with dark, rusty, red skin, and bronze colored chest, underbelly, claws, stripes along his back, arms, and legs, and spinal spikes starting at the base of his head and going down the length of his back and down three quarters of his long tale, which dragged slightly on the ground. He had large, yellow reptile-like eyes a large mouth with a predominant snaggletooth coming from the left side of its bottom lip. He had long muscular arms with four clawed, fingers, and two long, powerful, legs that were built for running. He stood at about 5'8" from head to toe.

"TITANOMON!*" the now dubbed Titanomon roared as fire shot out of his mouth.

"He changed shape!" Terra said in shock as she looked at the new creature.

"Cynderdramon...?" Karly asked in disbelief.

"A Vaccine-type?! Impossible!" Devimon said in shock.

Titanomon glared at Devimon and growled.

"Blaze Blaster!" the reptile Digimon called out launching a large ball of fire at the demon.

Devimon was in too much shock to dodge in time and the attack struck him in the face.

The attack exploded and forced the stronger Digimon to let go of Karly.

"Whoa!" the girl called out as she hit the floor.

"Are you okay?" Titanomon asked as he stood next to the brunette.

"Yeah..." she said as she rubbed her rear. "What happened to you?" she asked looking at the new Digimon next to her.

"I Digivolved! I just felt this power build up inside of me and now I'm way stronger than I was before!" said Titanomon.

"Awesome! You'll be bigger help than before." Karly said excitedly.

He held out a hand to help her up.

Karly took his outstretched hand and he pulled her up. A bright light lit up from their hands for several moments before fading.

"What the hell?" the girl said as she pulled her hand away and saw a small device sitting in her palm.

Titanomon's eyes widened in surprise. "It's a Digivice! That means we're partners now!" the reptile said excitedly.

"Cool! Now let's kick some ass Cynder!" she said in determination as she pulled out her sword.

"It's Titanomon now." said the dragon.

"Whatever." the girl said with a role of her eyes.

The party resumed their assault and with the aid of Titanomon's, now stronger, attacks, they were able to deal a great amount of damage onto Devimon.

"Enough!" Devimon shouted as he flapped his wings, blowing the party away and lifting himself up into the air. "Laser Wing!" he called out launching a barrage of wing-shaped laser attacks at the party.

"Look out!" Shin called out as the party dodged the continuous assault.

"There's nowhere to take cover!" Xion said as she avoided another Laser Wing.

"Just hang on a little longer! We're not giving in!" Sora said in determination as he looked at the airborne enemy. Suddenly a light bulb lit up over his head and he got an idea. He pulled his arm back and then threw his sword at Devimon.

The weapon spun through the air as it sailed towards devimon.

Sora's sword struck the devil and caused him to stagger.

'_I can't believe that worked!_' Sora thought before a smirk stretched across his lips. "I knew that would work." he said as he crossed his arms.

"You can pat yourself on the back later." Shin said as he stood next to the boy. "This is it! Let's end this!" he called out before charging forward.

Sora called his sword back and joined the charge.

"Blaze Blaster!" Titanomon called out launching a fireball from his mouth as he charged forward.

The attack hit Devimon sending him to the ground.

"Now!" Shin called out and the party made their move.

Sora and Terra rushed past the Champion Digimon and sliced off his wings.

Xion and Karly rushed him and slashed him in an X formation.

"This is... The end!" Shin called out as he jumped into the air and prepared an overhead strike.

Devimon locked eyes with the boy just as he brought down his blade.

The attack struck and Shin appeared behind the demon.

Devimon flashed white a couple of times before he began to fade from existence, causing the entire area to tremble violently.

**End Theme**

Once the trembling ended Devimon was no more.

"Alright, we won!" Sora said excitedly, grinning like a fool.

"Thank goodness. I don't think that I could have lasted much longer." Terra said in relief as she fell to her knees and panted from exhaustion.

"Terra, when you were possessed you were using some pretty strong magic. Why's that?" Xion asked as she sat next to her friend.

"I was possessed?" Terra asked in confusion.

"Oh. Yeah, you were. That monster used some sort of attack to take control of you during the fight and you were using tons of powerful spells You even went into this powered up state too." explained the ravenette.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! If I hurt you, then know that I didn't mean to do so." the Mage said apologetically.

"It's okay." Xion said brushing it off. "Now why was your magic so strong?" she asked curiously.

**Play Final Fantasy I OST- Chaos Shrine**

"Well I always had a very high affinity for magic. And my parents had been training me since I was young to use it effectively. If I don't keep it under control then my spells could cause a lot of damage." the green-haired Mage said looking up to the now roofless shrine, apparently remembering said training. "You also said that I went into this 'powered up' state that made all of my attacks more powerful right?" she asked as she looked at her friend.

Xion nodded.

"Do you... Do you think that I had somehow unlocked EX-Mode?" the Mage asked biting her bottom lip.

"I don't think so. It wouldn't have hurt you so much when you activated it..." the ravenette said crossing her arms. '_Or made you cough up so much blood._' she added in her head. She looked at her friend with a mix of curiosity and worry as she decided to change the subject. "Well either way, remind me not to piss you off anytime soon. I certainly don't want to be on the business end of your magic again." the ravenette said laughing.

"Don't worry. I won't let anyone take control of me again!" Terra said confidently before she joined in already feeling better thanks to her friend's understanding.

Meanwhile Karly and Titanomon were talking to the other Digimon who had now regained consciousness.

The four Rookies had told them that they were originally part of a resistance group that was trying to take Devimon out of power. They said that with Devimon gone the island could finally be at peace.

They had also congratulated Titanomon on not only digivolving, but also on finding a partner, much to said Digimon's bashfulness.

"Hey, where are the others?" Karly asked suddenly as she looked around, causing her partner to look around and sniff the air.

"I can't smell them." Titanomon said while sniffing the air.

"They must have gone through the door while we were holding that monster off." Shin as he walked up to them.

"That's good. I'm glad that they're alright." Terra said with a small smile.

"Let's get going. The sooner that we're out of here, the sooner we can rest." Shin said as he started walking to the door.

The others followed and soon the party stood in front of the door.

"Ready?" Shin asked looking back at them.

Everyone nodded.

"Good." he said with a nod. He then noticed Titanomon standing next to Karly. "You're bringing him along?" he asked the girl.

"Well he said we're partners. And I figure that having him around would came in handy." she said with a shrug.

**End Theme**

"Alright." Shin said with a shrug. "Let's go." he said as the door opened, revealing nothing but blinding, white light.

The group walked through the doorway and disappeared.

The door closed behind them.

As the door closed a figure walked out of the shadows and looked at the door.

"Well, they were quite promising. I think that I should test them personally." the figure said before sinking back into the shadows and vanishing.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Play Kingdom Hearts II OST- Space Paranoids<span>**

The light soon receded and the party soon found themselves in the very room they had arrived in when they first entered the Digital World before going to the Digital Island.

"Welcome back students. I wish to congratulate you all on making it here." the voice of Tron said just before the program appeared in the center of the room.

"Where is everybody else?" Xion asked as she looked around for any of the other students that had either passed or had been derezzed during the test.

"They are over there. Head down that hallway and you will reach the waiting area for those who had successfully passed this part of the test." he said as he pointed to a large hallway that led to a large waiting room.

"Thanks." the ravenette said with a nod before she and the rest of the party started moving towards the hall.

Tron watched the party walk off when he noticed Titanomon following Karly.

"Excuse me Karly." the program said causing the girl to stop and look at him. "Care to explain why you have a Digimon following you?" he asked with his arms crossed behind his back.

Xion, Terra, Sora, and Shin looked back at their friend in concern but she waved them off.

"Go on ahead. I'll catch up." she said reassuringly.

They nodded and kept walking.

"Well, I ran into this little guy in those creepy woods and he helped me out quite a bit. And while we were fighting that monster he suddenly changed into this." the girl said gesturing to Titanomon. "Oh, and after he changed this appeared in my hand." she said showing Tron the Digivice.

"A Digivice? So that explains it." he said with a nod.

"You know what this is?" Karly asked curiously.

"Yes. A Digivice is a special object that's created when a human and a Digimon form a bond with each other. But it is a rare occurrence though. Ever since their discovery several years ago they have quickly spread throughout the mainframes across every technologically advanced world via the World Wide Web. But despite this massive territory the number of accounts where humans and Digimon forming a bond is very low." he said and held his chin in thought. "In fact. Now that I think about it. The number of humans with Digimon partners here in Radiant Garden is around four or so I believe. Counting you of course." he said as he eyed the two.

"Wait, if they're everywhere like you said, then why are there so few partnerships?" Karly asked with her hands on her hips.

"Not every Digimon like humans." Titanomon said looking at his new partner.

"Indeed." Tron said with a nod.

"So what? Are you going to tell me that he can't come back with me to the real world?" the girl asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Even though most Digimon are quite dangerous to humans I wouldn't be able to separate you two from each other thanks to your Digivice." the program said pointing at the small device it the brunette's hand.

"So that means that he can come along?" she asked hopefully.

"While he cannot assist you during the final part of the test, you can bring him with you to the real world." Tron said with a smile.

"That's great! Come on Cynder, let's catch up to the others!" Karly said with a grin as she looked at her partner.

"I told you I'm Titanomon." the dragon said giving the girl a blank look.

"Heh, right." she said sheepishly. The duo then bid Tron goodbye and began walking towards the waiting area. '_You know, now that I think about it, I think that I've heard name somewhere before._' she thought and a memory from long ago come to the front of her mind.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Flashback<strong>

**Play Kingdom Hearts OST- Treasured Memories**

"Hey! What'cha drawing big bro?" a younger Karly asked as she looked over the shoulder of her elder brother, who was sitting at a table drawing crude picture of a creature.

The boy had short black hair and his eyes were shadowed over. He wore a simple red tee-shirt, a pair of tan shorts, and black sneakers.

Karly's older brother jumped in surprise at the sudden interruption and he looked at the girl while panting.

"Don't sneak up on me like that sis!" he said giving the girl a glare. He sighed and returned to his drawing. "Nothing much really. I'm making my own Digimon!" He said excitedly.

"One, your drawing sucks. And two, What's a Digimon?" Karly asked tilting her head to the side.

"I'm still new at it! I'll get better!" He said with a scowl before sighing. "We'll anyway, they're these really cool monsters that live in the computer. They have all these awesome abilities and they can even change into even cooler monsters!" he said excitedly. He then held up his drawing and showed it to the girl. "And this cool guy right here is my partner! His name is Titanomon. He's gonna be the strongest Digimon there ever was!" The boy said with a large grin.

On the paper was a crude drawing of Titanomon.

"Wow!" Karly said in an awed tone. "You're a total nerd!" she said in an awed tone before bursting out laughing.

"Shut up!" The elder sibling said with a scowl as he continued to work on his drawing.

**End Theme**

**End Flashback**

* * *

><p>'<em>That's right. My brother was working on a Digimon of the same name.'<em> She thought before looking at Titanoman. '_Is he that same monster?_' She thought as she continued to stare at the reptile.

Titanomon noticed the girl's staring and looked at her. "What?" he asked feeling a little flustered.

"Nothing." she said giggling.

"You humans are so _weird_!" the dragon said with a sigh as he and his partner kept walking forward.

Tron watched the two leave and chuckled. "I have a feeling that young lady will do great things." he said before disappearing in a flurry of data.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Play Kingdom Hearts II OST- Space Paranoids<span>**

After a couple of minutes the girl and the Digimon reached the waiting area where the students who had succeeded in passing the second test waited for the third test to begin.

She looked around and saw many familiar faces.

She saw Ienzo, Lea, and Myde sitting on a nearby couch. She saw Kairi and Naminé standing in a corner of the room talking to each other.

On another couch a fully healed Seifer, complete with a restored right arm, and a fully healed Fujin, though she appeared to be wearing an eye patch over her left eye, suggesting that it may still be missing, we're simply resting from their trial on the Digital Island and their brushes with death.

There was a large television screen set up on a wall to the left with several game consoles set up nearby, where Sora, Riku, Shin, and Ven, we're playing Super Smash Brothers Brawl on the Wii. It looked like Riku was currently winning the match. Bartz was standing next to them, cheering them on.

Aeros, Ignis, and Kokoro were sitting on the couch behind them watching the match.

Sitting next to Aeros was an attractive young woman with long, mid-back-length silver hair with a pair of bangs that framed her face and reached her collarbones. Her eyes were quite unique for they were cyan in color with cat-like slits for pupils. She wore the suit for Team Light and had no helmet on.

Terra and Xion we're sitting on a couch talking to each other as Terra petted a small bird like creature on her lap. That made Karly quirk an eyebrow curiously.

There were a few other people in the room as we'll but they were of no interest to Karly.

She didn't notice that a bot wearing the suit for Team Dark with a helmet that completely hid his face had just walked into the room and leaned against the wall next to the hall with his arms crossed over his chest.

Xion finally noticed the brunette and her Digimon partner standing at the room's entrance and waved them over.

The girl and her Digimon walked over to the two.

"So what did Mr. Tron want?" Terra asked as she looked at the girl.

"He just wanted to talk to me about Titanomon here. The good news is that I can bring him with me to the real world." Karly said with a grin before it fell to a pout. "The bad news is that he can't help me once the last part of the test starts." she said with a sigh.

"We'll I think having a fire breathing dinosaur helping you would probably count as cheating." Xion with a giggle.

"Eh, I guess so." the brunette said with a shrug.

"Hey don't worry Karly, you'll do great!" Titanomon said supportively.

"Of course I will! After all, I am the most badass girl around!" Karly said with confidence.

Xion and Terra giggled at the girl's enthusiasm.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Later!<strong>

After what seemed like ages, the second test finally came to a close and all of the students were called back to the room they first arrived in when they were brought to the Digital World so Tron could brief them on what happens next.

"To all of you who made it this far I say well done for this was no easy test." The program said getting many murmurs of agreement. "But this is not the end yet. Your final test will be your most difficult yet. And I must warn you..." he trailed off as he scanned the audience of one thousand students before him causing many of them to become quite tense. "The danger is much higher. And the chances for survival are quite low." he said grimly causing many students to gulp.

"Do you have any advice for us sir?" a random student asked nervously.

"Yes. Keep calm, use your head, and don't die." said Tron. "Now I must ask all of you to please stay still. I will be commencing the procedure to return you all to the real world." he said as the room began to glow.

**End Theme**

* * *

><p>The glow increased until it was blinding and everyone closed their eyes to avoid going blind.<p>

Once the light faded everyone found themselves someplace else entirely.

"Where the hell are we?" Karly asked as she looked around at her surroundings. She noticed that she and everyone else were wearing their normal clothes again. She also noticed that Titanomon was no longer with her.

It appeared as though they were in a city, what city none where sure. The city had a Renaissance look to it though it appeared to be in ruins with many buildings looking old, dilapidated, weather beaten, and crumbling. They were all standing in what looked to be a large public park of some sort. Many of the plants that might have grown here we're long dead and the gnarled trees dotted throughout the area were the only indications that this once was a park. There was a thick miasma permitting the air giving off a sense of foreboding and dread.

Xion, who was standing next the brunette held a look of unease on her face.

"I don't know. But I have this place gives me the chills." she said with a shiver.

"We're in the ruins of some city. Which one, I don't know. But it's big, that's for sure." Lea said as he walked up to the two.

"Is this where the final test takes place?" Terra asked glancing around nervously.

"Very astute of you." a mysterious, male voice said from out of nowhere scaring many of the students.

"Who said that?!" Karly asked as she looked around.

Suddenly the lighting of the entire area darkened greatly, which was odd since they were outside. Just then, a skull appeared from out of thin air directly in front of the girl's face causing her to scream in fear.

While Karly was frozen in terror, the skull floated higher into the air until it towered over everyone there. Then, oddly enough, a spotlight shone down over the skull, illuminating the rest of its tall, slender, skeletal body. The giant skeleton wore a pinstripe suit with a bow tie that resembled a bat. The skeleton had very long, slender, fingers, and a round, oval-shaped skull with a large grin stretched across the place where its mouth should be.

The skeleton then laughed out loud as the lighting returned to normal. "I got you! You have to admit that I scared her pretty good." The finely dressed skeleton said in amusement.

Everyone stared at the odd being before them while Xion and Terra tried to unfreeze Karly.

The two were eventually able to unfreeze the girl who then glared at the tall skeleton.

"What's the big deal scaring me like that?! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" She said angrily.

"Oh, cheer up! You know as they say, life's no fun without a good scare." The skeleton said in a friendly tone.

"Yeah, but not when it nearly kills someone!" the girl said angrily as she glared at the skeleton.

The skeleton held his chin in thought. "I suppose I did go a little overboard. Please accept my sincerest apologies." he said bowing.

"Whatever..." Karly said with a huff as she turned her head away.

"Um, who are you exactly?" Xion asked as she gazed curiously at the skeleton.

"You don't know who I am?" he asked prompting the girl to shake her head.

"I see... We'll then! I suppose that introductions are in order!" he said excitedly before disappearing in a puff of smoke, sparks, and bats.

The lighting darkened again and everyone looked around for the odd skeleton.

"I am the master oh Halloween! The Baron of Frights! The Sultan of Screams!" He said with his voice somehow being amplified.

A spotlight shone down in front of the crowd and the skeleton appeared under it.

"My name is Jack Skellington! And I am the Pumpkin King!" he said as a small explosion of dark blue smoke, sparks, and bats happened right behind him as he threw his arms to the side.

"A real flare for the dramatic, huh?" Karly said giving the now named Jack Skellington a blank look.

"So does that mean that you're the proctor for this part of the test?" Xion asked the skeleton.

"We'll, yes and no. I have an assistant but he's not here yet." Jack said as he put his hands on his hips.

"So does that means that we'll have to wait for the guy to show up? Lea asked not liking the idea of being kept waiting by a teacher who was running late.

"I suppose so..." Jack said with a sigh.

Luckily the second proctor arrived after only five minutes.

Upon laying their eyes upon the proctor they all gaped in shock.

The second proctor was a man with short, brushed down white hair, blue eyes, and pale skin. He wore a bright red coat over a black leather vest, black pants, and black boots. Strapped to his back was a long broadsword with a skull motif, and a pair of twin, black and white handguns.

"Sorry I'm late. I got caught up in some business." The man said with a shrug as he walked up to Jack. "Howdy. The name's Dante." the man said with a lazy grin as he faced the students.

At that moment over three quarters of the student body had nerdgasms of epic proportions while a majority of the girls fainted from the very attractive man that stood before them.

"Holy crap!" cried out one student.

"Is that who I think it is?!" another student cried out excitedly.

"I heard that guy can take down monsters as big as a Titan without even batting an eye or even breaking a sweat!" said another student.

"Titan?!" a black-haired boy with green eyes cried out in rage. (Guess who?)

"There are no Titans here, relax." a pale-skinned girl of Asian descent with chin-length black hair and black eyes said calmly. (Try to guess her too, though it might be easy.)

"No way! War hero Dante Sparda is our proctor?!" Sora cried out in shock.

"Glad to see that my reputation precedes me here." Dante said, causing several more girls to faint.

"You're a freaking legend!" Roxas shouted after recovering from his nerdgasm.

"I know I'm awesome, but right now you kids got a test on your hands." the white-haired man said snapping a lot of the students out of it. "Anyways, this little test is a survival exercise. You all have five days to reach the location marked on this map." He said as Jack started passing out maps of the city to the students. "How you get there is not the problem. You have to get there in one piece. Now, any questions?" He asked looking out at the crowd.

"Um, what kind of dangers are we going to face here?" Xion asked raising her hand.

"I think I'll leave that for you all to find out." said the war hero.

"But we will guarantee that it will be a hair raising experience!" Jack said cryptically.

"Now that we have the Q&A of the way, we have one more thing to take care of." he said putting his hands in his pockets.

"We will now call up the first ten people who crossed through the gate at the end of the second test and have them come forward to claim their special advantages for this part of the exam." Jack said as he pulled out a sheet a paper.

Jack read out the names of the first ten students in the order of who passed through the gate. Among them were three odd students who no one had ever seen before, the silver-haired girl Karly saw sitting next to Aeros in the waiting area, Aeros, Ignis, and Kokoro, and finally Ienzo, Lea, and Myde.

They had all been given backpacks filled with food, first aid kits, and other survival equipment as we'll as weapons to defend themselves with.

"Now we'll start calling out the next ten so they can claim their advantages as well." Jack said before he read off the names on the list.

Kairi, Naminé, Riku, Ventus, Bartz, Seifer, Fujin, Shin, Terra, and Xion all stepped forward and claimed several backpacks filled with food and several other survival equipment, but no first aid kits or weapons to defend themselves with.

With all of the rewards handed out, the students returned to the crowd.

"Alright then. What you do from here on out is entirely up to you. Either team up with your buddies or do it on your own. It's entirely your choice." Dante said as he crossed his arms over his chest. "What you do here determines you got what it takes to stay here in KHA or not. So good luck. Oh, and one more thing. You guys are gonna have to find food on your own 'cause we're not handing it to you on a silver platter. Got that?" He said while looking over the crowd.

The students gave their general compliance although there were a few who were whining about the difficulty.

"Good! Now we'll be taking our leave." The white-haired man said as he turned around and faced away from the group.

"I wish you all the best of luck! See you all in five days!" Jack said as he put a hand on Dante's shoulder and the two disappeared in a puff of dark blue smoke, sparks, and bats.

Before anyone could do anything, Jack's voice was heard.

"Oh, and I would suggest that you all start moving from this area as soon as the buzzer signaling the start of the test rings. And try to avoid being in big groups! Okay, good luck!" He said before growing silent.

After a couple of minutes the buzzer signaling the start of the third and final part of the test sounded.

The students all began to leave the park, many of whom were either going off on their own or forming parties.

"Hey guys, why don't we stick together and pool our resources?" Xion asked as she stood with Shin, Terra, Karly, Sora, Riku, Kairi, Naminé, and Ven.

"Actually Xion, I think that we should keep the group as small as possible." Riku said as he shouldered his backpack.

"So you think we should split up?" Terra asked looking at the silver-haired boy.

"Right. Me, Sora, Kairi, Naminé, and Ven will form one group and you four will be the other. Jack said to avoid forming big parties so I think that this will be the safest route." Riku explained as crossed his arms.

"That sounds like a good plan. I also think that we should find some weapons to use. Since we're not in the Digital World anymore so we shouldn't expect weapons to just appear in our hands. That means that we'll all need means to defend ourselves from any possible dangers here." Shin explained as he remembered the first ten students getting weapons along with their survival kits.

"That seems like a good plan. So we'll all meet up at the destination in five days, right?" asked Riku.

Everyone nodded.

"Okay, see you guys then." sora said with his hands behind his head.

Sora's party then walked off, finding their own route towards the place marked on the map.

"Be careful!" Terra called out after them as they walked off.

"Alright, let's get going." Shin said as he started moving towards the city.

"Who put you in charge?" Karly said with a scowl as she glared at the brunet.

"Well someone has to. But if you want to do so then go right ahead." he said to the girl.

"I will! Alright, follow me!" The brunette said walking passed Shin and into the city.

The rest of the party followed her lead and walked along the road leading further into the ruined city.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Several hours later!<span>**

Several hours later as the sun began to set, the party stopped for the night at what used to be a public garden. All of the flowers and plants had long since died away, leaving the area bare. The same thick miasma permeated the air around them as it hung over the ground.

The tall, crumbling buildings casted eerie shadows over the lot as Shin tried to start a fire.

Terra sat across from Shin, waiting patiently for the boy to finish so she could light it. Perched on her shoulder was the small Fletchling.

Xion was keeping watch over there surroundings so nothing would sneak up on them.

Karly stood over Shin while he worked tapping her foot impatiently while occasionally rubbing her arms.

"Ugh, hurry up! It's getting cold out here!" Karly said as she tried to keep herself warm in the chilling night air.

"I'm trying! This isn't exactly easy you know!" The boy said as he pulled pieces of broken wood and discarded newspaper into a pile.

"What's this weird fog anyways? It's filled with so many odd colors and I swear that I can see people in it!" Karly said shivering from the atmosphere the fog gave off.

"It's called Mist. It's a naturally occurring magical phenomenon that happens on a few select area on certain worlds. It'a usually formed from excess magical energy as well as souls of the dead who weren't able to pass on to the other side." Xion said almost encyclopedically.

Karly, Terra, and Shin stared at the ravenette with wide eyes.

"What?" the girl asked sheepishly.

"Where did _that_ come from?" Karly asked in amazement.

"I read it in a book." Xion said with a shrug and that was all that was said on the topic.

After a few moments Shin piled the wood and newspapers together.

"There." He said wiping his brow. "Hey, Terra... Do you think you can light it up?" He asked while looking at the girl.

"I'll try." she said with a nod and she pointed her palms at the pile. A moment later a small ball of fire shot out of her palms and ignited the timbre.

"Ah... That feels _so_ much better!" Karly said in relief as she put her hands near the fire to warm herself.

Several minutes of silence passed as the group ate their dinner and listened to the crackling fire.

It stayed like this until Xion began looking around.

"What's up Xion?" Karly asked looking at her raven-haired friend.

"I don't know... Something about this place feels... Off." she said as she hugged herself a little tighter. "I don't know if it's the Mist or something but it feels like we're being watched." she said with a shiver.

"You know, now that we have time to stop and think. Just what is this place anyways?" Karly asked as she glanced curiously at the buildings surrounding them.

Just then the wind began to pick up and blew an errant newspaper towards them.

The newspaper hit Xion's side and she grabbed it.

Once the wind died down she read the name of the paper.

"The Fortuna Gazette?" she said in a questioning voice. There was something about that name that felt familiar. But she just couldn't place it.

**Play Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories OST- Scent of Silence**

She read the cover story as it talked about some sort of war that was taking place.

"Why does that name sound familiar?" Shin asked as he held his chin in thought.

"I think I've heard of it too." Karly said as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Now that you mention it, I think I've heard of it too." said Terra.

"It can't be a coincidence that we've all heard of this place before, right?" Xion asked as she looked at her fellow party members.

"Right... There's more going on here than what we see on the surface." said Shin.

Suddenly the sound of trash cans falling over alerted them to a nearby alley-way.

They all looked over to see a figure through the thick Mist pick itself back up and begin lumbering over to them drunkenly.

The four glanced at each other and Karly stood up to address the figure.

"Hey! Are you one of the other students taking this messed up test?" she asked the figure but it didn't respond and continued to lumber towards them. "Hey! Didn't you hear me?! Are you one of us?" she asked starting to get pissed off by the lack of response.

As the figure continued to slowly lumber towards the group, the others stood up and watched it warily.

"Do you think he's hurt?" Xion asked as she watched the figure stumble and fall down before picking itself back up again and continuing it slow march.

"Probably... But something about this stinks." Shin said as he watched the figure continue coming towards them.

No sooner than when he said that did a foul stench hit Terra's nose, making her gag violently and cover her mouth to keep herself from throwing up.

"What's wrong Terra?" Xion asked in concern as she looked at her friend.

"There's a horrible stench coming off that guy. He smells worse than death!" she said as her eyes watered from the smell and she plugged her nose to keep from smelling it any further. "Can't any of you smell it too?" She asked only to choke when the smell got caught in her throat.

The others took a whiff of the air and noticed the foul odor that seemed to flood the area.

"Ugh, what's that smell?!" Karly asked as she plugged her nose.

"Do you think that it's coming from that guy?" Xion asked as she covered her mouth and nose with her hands.

"Think so. Keep your guard up." Shin said guardedly.

**End Theme**

The figure was only a couple of meters away from the group when they heard it give out a strained moan. It soon shambled into the light of the fire and revealed its features to the group.

(Warning! This part is quite graphic in nature. Reader discretion is advised.)

The party was shocked at what they saw.

The figure was a man. But he was in no way a normal man. Instead, the man was more of a rotting corpse than a man. Its skin was pale and covered with dried blood. It lacked any lips and its teeth were completely exposed, the front of its torso was torn open, its ribs protruding outwards and its entrails were hanging out from its gut. Its left arm from the elbow down was missing and its right foot was bent at an awkward angle. Its eyes were milky and blank as it stared at the quartet. A strangled moan escaped its shredded throat as it held its arms out towards them.

Karly felt the color drain from her face as she gazed at the creature lumbering towards her.

"I-is t-that thing w-what I think it is?" the brunette asked as she slowly started to back away from the lumbering creature.

"It is. But that doesn't make any sense!" Shin said in disbelief as he tensed, readying himself for fight or flight.

"Are you saying that we're looking at a Zombie?!" Xion asked in disbelief as she looked at the boy.

"It sure as hell looks like one!" Karly said fearfully as she got ready to run away if needed.

Terra, who was closest to the monster, backed up as it got closer to her. She nearly tripped and fell into the fire behind her, but she was able to catch herself.

Karly backed away until she bumped into something hard. She thought she had bumped into a wall, but two things made her realize otherwise.

One, they had built their fire far from any walls, and two, the 'wall' grabbed her by the arms.

Whimpering quietly, she slowly turned her head to see just _what_ had grabbed her. When she looked behind herself, she saw a man's chest that was covered in dried blood. She then looked up to see that what had grabbed her was another Zombie.

It looked down at her and moaned hungrily.

This time all color left her entire body making her appear to be completely white.

"EYAH!" the girl shrieked in terror as she was able wrench herself free from the monster's grip and give the rotting bag of maggots a powerful uppercut right to its chin. The punch was strong enough to actually decapitate the corpse and sent its head flying into the air.

The others heard their friend's scream and looked back look back in time to see her wrench herself free from the grip of another Zombie and give it an uppercut strong enough to decapitate the creature and send its head into the air.

Terra heard a moan and she turned around to see that the first Zombie was almost within arm's reach of her.

She squeaked in surprise and jumped out of the way just as it tried to grab her with its single arm.

Xion then looked around for anything she could use and found a crowbar conveniently lying on the ground nearby. (Convenient)

She dove for the object and picked it up.

"Hey ugly!" She called out earning the creature's attention.

The ravenette then ran towards the monster and struck it in the temple with the crowbar.

The Zombie fell to the ground but Xion didn't take any chances and started bashing its head in. After about several solid hits she stood back up with some blood on her shirt, pants, and left arm as well as a few splotches on her cheeks.

"There. We should be good... For now at least." she said as she wiped some sweat off her brow with her right hand.

"Um, Xion you got a little blood on your... Everywhere actually." Karly said gesturing to the girl's entire body.

Xion looked down at herself and chuckled sheepishly. "I guess I went a little overboard." She said with a sheepish grin while scratching the back of her head with her right hand.

"A little?" the brunette said with a blank look.

"We should get moving. If we stay here then we'll be Walker chow." Shin said scanning the area to see if any more of those creatures were still around.

"We should be fine. As long as we don't run any big groups of them then we should be able to handle those things." Xion said as she hooked the crowbar through one of the belt loops on her pants.

"Xion's right. I doubt that it could get any worse than Zombies." Karly said confidently with her hands on her hips.

Just then a rattle was heard from nearby and the party looked over to see, not a Zombie, but a new creature shambling towards them.

The creature bared a strong resemblance to a mummy. Its grayish-blue skinned, almost skeletal figure was wrapped in patches of white gauze bandages; the head was completely covered in them, save for a gap that revealed a bright yellow eye in a shadowed face, and the Creature's "plume", was a simple angular-spiraled antenna. It also had a "ribcage" of six sharp barbs that surrounded its chest and Heartless emblem, it also had large hands, and long barbed fingers and toes.

"Shit, a Heartless!" Shin said as he gritted his teeth.

"Heartless?" Karly asked as she looked at the boy.

"They're monsters born from the darkness. They have a real liking towards hearts. This specific type is called a Wight Knight. It's species is commonly found in areas that have a high concentration of Mist or are filled with the undead." explained the brunet.

"Are they dangerous?" Xion asked as she pulled out the crowbar and got ready to fight if needed.

"Very. Especially in large groups." said the boy.

Just then several more Wight Knights along with another type of Heartless appeared before them.

These new creatures were well-designed for their appearances in areas where a spooky atmosphere is required. They were pale-skinned and bared the classic footless ghost shape of Japanese folklore; they were clad in purple tunics bearing the Heartless emblem. The sleeves of the tunic ended in white cuffs with gold cuff links, but the fashionable nature of the tunic is ruined a bit by the torn hemline and a rip on the left side that exposed their ribcages. They also wore white cuffed gloves, but noticeably, there was no flesh or skin connecting the sleeves of the tunic to their hands, only a disturbing empty gap. They also bared the traditional Heartless jagged jawline and yellow eyes; however, their wide yellow eyes had black angled spirals on them. In addition, the right eye had been pulled out of the socket, and was only held to the head by a length of silver chain. Their remaining good eyes were what they used to search for their prey, emitting a yellow glow while looking, and with the glow turning red when a target has been spotted.

"They have Search Ghosts?! We need to go, now!" Shin said as he turned around only for his eyes to widen in shock.

Behind the group more Zombies were slowly lumbering towards them.

"We'll shit." Karly said as she looked at the situation.

"What do we do now?!" Terra asked as she looked between the Heartless and the Walkers that were surrounding them.

"I don't know..." Shin said at a loss for what to do.

**Narrator****: Our heroes had finally reached the final part of the test but this new obstacle now stands in their way and intends to put an end to them. Will they reach the goal unscathed? Or will they fall to the undead hordes? Only time will tell. Find out next time on Kingdom Hearts Academy!**

**End of Chapter 5**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Author's Notes<span>**

*1: Titanomon is a Rookie level Digimon and the evolved form of Cynderdramon. His Blaze Blaster attack can burn anything it touches and burn away any evil! He is fiercely loyal to his partner and would put his life on the line without any hesitation.

Titano Man: And that brings an end to chapter 5! I'm sorry it took so long to get out, life can get really distracting sometimes. I hoped you enjoyed it nonetheless.

Karly: Did you really have to add Zombies?

Titano Man: Yes. It had been buzzing around in my head for a while so I had to add it. And don't worry people, this part of the test will finally end next chapter. Now most of the story won't be following a plot per se until the end. Up until then the chapters will be focusing on character development and world building. The next fifteen to twenty chapters will be focusing on one or two characters and their interactions with each other. Think of it as a series of one-shots that build up to the season finale. Now that we have the exposition out of the way, I would like to thank you for your support and I wish for you to continue showing your support by giving me plenty of reviews. Thank you. Now show the teaser!

Teaser:

Xion: These things are everywhere!

Shin: We'll have to ration our supplies. It's the only chance we have for survival.

?: Pathetic! Stay out of our way.

?: You guys aren't all that tough really.

Xion: You... You BASTARD!

**Narrator****: Next time, The Demon's Trial**

Hades: See you all next time!

Titano Man: WTF?! Hades! What are you doing here?!

**To Be Continued...**

Update: To those who read the original version of this chapter I have extended the battle against Devimon to take advantage of Terra's temporary possession by him. I hope you enjoyed the changes and continue to show your support. Thank you.


	7. The Demon's Trial

**Previously, on the last Author's Notes...**

**Play Final Fantasy XII OST- Esper**

**Hades**: **See you all next time!**

Titano Man: WTF?! Hades! What are you doing here?!

**Show Start!**

**Hades**: **Oh, I thought that I would just drop by to say hi.**

Xion: Shouldn't you be bothering Pit or something?

**Hades**: **Normally, yes. But I've been growing bored of that lately so one day I was scrolling through the fan fiction archives looking to see what atrocities you so called 'authors' created when I found this little gem. I have to say. You have the potential to be a halfway decent writer.**

Titano Man: Wow. A half compliment from Hades? That doesn't happen often.

**Hades**: **But then again, most of what you've written had bored me to tears. And I didn't really like most of the characters you've made up. Frankly your character development is worse than that god awful Twilight series!**

Titano Man: Aaaaand there's the Hades we know and love to hate. And my self-esteem has taken a severe hit. *sigh* Somebody roll the disclaimer! I've got a Troll to deal with. *goes to closet and grabs his recently purchased Sword of Trolls Bane*

Karly: Titano Man XIII does not own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, or Final Fantasy in general, Pokémon, or anything else that he decides to put into this story. The only this he does own are all of the OCs that appear in this story with the exception of Shinryu Verus, who belongs to The Unknowing Herald.

**Hades**: **On with the show!**

**End Theme**

* * *

><p><strong>Final Kingdom Arc 1 Kingdom Hearts Academy<strong>

**Narrator****: When we last left our heroes... W-what?! What are you doing in here?! No! Put that down!**

There were sounds of a struggle for about a minute before everything went quiet...

**Hades**: ***Ahem* I'll be acting as narrator now so I'll be the one announcing the themes and scene changes, okay? Now, when we last left our heroes, the third and final part of the massive, school wide test had begun and the entire student body had been left to fend for themselves in an abandoned, decaying city called Fortuna. As everyone split off to take their own route towards the goal marked on the maps given to them, Karly, Xion, Terra, and Shin grouped together and made their way through the abandoned city. But when they stopped to rest for the night they encountered, much to their shock and disbelief, legions of the undead and Heartless! Will they escape the cold grip of death? Or will they join the walking dead? I think we all know the answer though. Anyways, read on to find out!**

**Play awesome anime opening!**

The scene opened to a dark alley-way within the abandoned city of Fortuna. Three figures were seen running through it as fast as their legs could carry them as they ran for their lives. The air around them was filled with terrified screams and the growls of the monsters that wandered throughout the city as they hunted their prey.

As the three stopped to catch their breaths the scene froze and the episode's title appeared.

**The Demon's Trial**

"I think we're safe now." one figure said in a male voice.

"W-what we're those things?!" another figure asked in a terrified female voice.

"I don't know, but I ain't sticking around to find out!" the third figure said in a male voice before he started to leave the alley.

"Wait!" the first boy said chasing after the other boy.

"W-wait for me!" the girl said frantically as she ran after the two.

The trio left the alley and entered a darkened street.

(**You can tell something's going to happen because of the change in the lighting.**)

(Damn it Hades! Shut up and stop spoiling the story!)

The two boys walked by what looked like a store. They couldn't tell what was inside because it was pitch black in there.

"Guys I don't think that we should go this way!" the girl said worriedly as she glanced around the area.

The two boys stopped in front of the store's large front window and looked back at the girl.

"It's okay. This street's clear. We should be fine." The first boy said reassuringly.

"O-okay..." the girl said biting her lip.

Just then the window the boys were standing in front of broke outwards and an undead ghoul reached and grabbed the first boy.

The girl screamed from the glass suddenly breaking.

The boy screamed as he was dragged inside of the store.

"Oh shit!" the second boy said before he turned tail and ran away towards an alley-way across the street.

"Wait! Don't leave me!" the girl screamed as the other boy ran off.

"You're on your own, I'm outta here!" he said before disappearing into the dark alley. Moments later a terrified scream was heard coming from the alley before everything went quiet.

Moments later the sounds of tapping and metal scraping across the ground started coming from the alley and was progressively growing louder.

Tears cascaded down the girl's face as she shook from fear.

Within moments a terrifying creature that wasn't a Heartless or a Zombie lumbered into view.

The creature looked to be covered in a series of burlap sacks stitched together all over its body. Its left arm was that of a marionette and it had peg legs on both legs. It also had an executioner's hood stitched onto its head. But its most terrifying feature was the giant blade grafted onto its right elbow. And the most terrifying thing about it... The blade was covered in blood... Fresh blood.

The creature looked at her and began to make its way towards her. Moving on wobbly legs as its giant arm-blade scraped across the ground behind it.

That seemed to wake the girl up. She immediately turned around and ran down the street in an attempt to get away from the monster.

As she ran she looked back to see if the monster was now chasing after her at a surprising speed. Because of this she failed to notice a manhole cover in her path lift up and be pushed to the side.

As she ran by the open manhole, hands shot out and grabbed her ankles, causing her to trip and fall down.

She screamed in terror as she was being dragged towards the hole in the ground.

The girl clawed at the ground in an attempt to save herself, but she only succeeded in breaking her nails and making them bleed.

She released one last scream as she was pulled into the hole and into the dark underground.

(**And that's another new resident for the underworld.)**

(And the award for the most heartless comment goes to...)

(**Now, there's no need to be so stiff!**)

(I hate you...)

* * *

><p><strong><span>With the people who are actually important!<span>**

**Play Kingdom Hearts OST- Night of Fate**

We find out heroes, more or less, in a perilous situation.

Before them were a group of Heartless comprised of Wight Knights and Search Ghosts, and behind them was a hoard of the living dead.

(**My... I wonder how they'll get out of this?**)

"What should we do?" Terra asked worriedly as she looked between the Heartless and the encroaching horde of reanimated corpses.

"I'm thinking!" Shin said trying to come up with a plan.

They were trapped in the middle of an open area surrounded by hostile monsters. Oh, and only one of them had a means to defend themselves.

Fantastic...

"Xion, what are our chances for survival?" Shin asked the girl.

Xion did the math in her head for a moment before she replied. "I'd say that we have a 33.33, repeating of course, percent chance of survival." she said with crowbar in hand.

Shin took a moment to process the information.

"Okay I think I have a plan. But I'm going to need everyone's cooperation for it to work." he said getting nods from Xion and Terra. "Alright, first I'll make some noise to distract the Heartless and lead them towards me. Terra, you'll then use your magic and take out as many as you can, got it?" he asked getting a nod from said girl. "Xion, you'll hold off any Walkers that get too close' okay?" he asked getting a nod in return. "Now Karly I want you to-" he said as the brunette walked up to the group with a four foot long lead pipe that she somehow got a hold of in hand and turned to face the Heartless.

"Okay, let's do this! LEEROY JENKINS!" Karly shouted as she charged towards the group of Heartless, plowing straight through the creatures and running into the alley behind them earning incredulous looks from her party members.

"Did... Did she just run in?!" Shin asked in disbelief.

(**Apparently she didn't hear the plan.**)

"Is she insane?!" Xion cried in shock.

(**I'm going with yes.**)

"Karly, stick to the plan!" Terra shouted as she, Xion, and Shin ran after the apparently suicidal girl.

(**Does she actually look like one to follow a plan?**)

The rest of the party managed to make it pass the Heartless before they were able to recover and they disappeared into the alley.

**End Theme**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Meanwhile Elsewhere!<span>**

**Play Kingdom Hearts OST- Thirteenth Discretion**

Our perspective now shifts to what looked like a dilapidated, abandoned cathedral.

Within the cathedral three figures had just finished off a small horde of monsters.

One of the burlap sack monsters from earlier suddenly collapsed onto the floor.

Standing over the now unmoving body was what looked like a young man wearing a long-sleeved, hooded white coat sheathing a katana. The boy wore his hood up, completely hiding his features from view. He stood at roughly 5'6".

"Nya, those Scarecrows are quite weak, huh?" A girl dressed in a white coat similar to the boy's only more form fitting said as she stepped into the moonlight that was coming from the broken skylight above them. The only thing that set her apart from the boy was her figure and the white porcelain, cat-themed mask that she wore on her face. She stood at 5'4".

"They're gonna have to do a lot better than that to take us down." the hooded boy said causing the girl to giggle.

"But you have to admit..." a female voice said from within the shadows of the lightless cathedral.

Footsteps could be heard walking towards the duo.

Another girl wearing a long, hooded, white coat that hid all of her features stepped into the moonlight. She stood at around 5'8".

"They really outdid themselves. Zombies, Heartless, and Demons, oh my!" she said before giggling. "What next? Ghosts?" she asked jokingly.

(**What's this? Foreshadowing perhaps?**)

"Knowing the people in charge, they probably set that up too." the boy said as he turned to look at the hooded girl.

"Hey, how much longer until we get there?" the masked girl asked as she looked at the boy.

"We still have quite a ways to go. Since most of the direct routes have either been blocked off or destroyed, we'll have to take an unconventional route." the hooded girl said as she pulled out the map they had been given.

The map showed a large island in which the city they were in rested. The destination marked onto the map was well outside the city nestled deep within the nearby mountains.

"That doesn't sound _too_ hard." the masked girl said with her hands on her hips.

"Come on. We should find a place to rest for the night." the hooded boy said walking towards one of the doors on the side of the room.

"Yeah, I'm tired." the masked girl said following the boy.

The hooded girl followed the two with a yawn.

(**Oh, I'm sure that these three will be important later on!**)

* * *

><p><strong><span>Back with the plot!<span>**

We now find Karly, Shin, Terra, and Xion within what looked like an old abandoned home.

They were panting from all of the non-stop running they had been doing since they were ambushed by those Heartless and the Zombies.

They were all resting in the living room trying to recover from the ordeal they had just gone through. Xion and Terra were sitting on an old couch while Shin leaned against the wall next to the window to look out for any monsters.

"It looks like we're safe for now. Is everyone alright?" Shin asked as he regained his breath.

"Yeah." Xion said with a nod as she finally regained her breath. She looked to Karly, who was leaning against the farthest wall from the front door and the windows for support. "What the hell were you thinking?! You're running in like that could have gotten us all killed or worse!" she asked with her hands on her hips and a frown.

"What you did was reckless and irresponsible! What do you have to say for yourself?!" Terra asked in a scolding tone as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Plot armor." the brunette said with a shrug.

The ravenette and the Mage stared at the girl incredulously.

(**I feel your pain girls. There have been many times that I couldn't get my way because of that basted armor.**)

"It doesn't matter anymore. We're still alive and that's all that matters." Shin said diffusing the situation.

Karly then let out a yawn. "Man, am I tired. What time is it?" She asked as she rubbed her tired eyes.

"I think I saw a watch or something in this bag. Give me a second." Shin said pulling off the survival pack the proctors had given him and sitting on the floor.

He rummaged through the bag and pulled out a small digital wristwatch.

He pressed the small button on the device and the screen lit up.

"It around nine." he said before strapping the watch to his wrist.

"Huh... I thought that it was later than that." the brunette said rubbing her tired eyes.

"We should get some sleep. We'll get moving in the morning." the only boy in the group said crossing his arms.

One of us should take watch so we aren't ambushed by any of those monsters." Xion said as she looked at the boy.

"Good idea. I'll take the first watch. Xion will go next. Then Terra will take watch and Karly will take the last watch." The brown-haired boy said as he stood back up and shouldered the survival pack.

(**I bet Karly will fall asleep as soon as her turn starts.**)

"Maybe someone should check if it all clear upstairs?" Terra suggested while looking at the nearby staircase.

"I'll go check." Xion said getting up from her seat and moving to the stairs. She pulled out the crowbar and quietly crept up the stairs.

The wood creaked under the girl's weight after not having been stepped on for a long time.

Several minutes went by, the sounds of the creaking floorboards above them was the only indication that their friend was still alright.

After another few minutes Xion returned downstairs and rejoined the others.

"It's all clear." she said putting the crowbar back through the belt loop.

"That's good." Shin said with a nod. "We wouldn't want to run into any ghouls here. Okay girls, find a bed and get some rest. We'll leave and start making our way through the city around 18:00 hours. I'll wake you up in a few hours Xion." the brunet said while looking at the girl.

"Alright. There's also a bathroom upstairs with running water. So we can take a few quick showers in the morning." The ravenette said before she released a yawn.

"That's good news! I don't think I would survive without at least taking a shower." Karly said with a grin.

"Alright you three go on ahead and get some rest. I'll be down here keeping watch." Shinryu said gesturing for the three to head on upstairs and get some shut eye.

The girls nodded and Xion pulled out the crowbar and gave it to the boy before she and the other girls went upstairs.

Shin sat down on the couch and kept watch on the windows and door.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Meanwhile elsewhere!<span>**

Standing atop the roof of a house situated where Karly and company were staying, a figure clad in dark clothing and a hood watched with interest.

"Impressive... They're either very skilled or very, very lucky to make it this far." the figure said in amusement as they watched the building. "They might actually prove interesting to watch." they said before pulling out a small bag. "These children and the others that had caught my interest could prove to be useful. But for now, only time will tell. I shall leave them a gift." the figure said as they held up the bag. "Show me just how strong you can be." they said before disappearing from sight.

(**Oh how mysterious!**)

(I swear to God, Hades...!)

* * *

><p><strong><span>Several hours later!<span>**

It was now dawn and Karly was down in the living room watching out for any monsters.

Well she would be... If she wasn't already in a deep sleep on the couch...

Not ten minutes after her shift started she had fallen asleep on the couch.

(**Called it!**)

The brunette snored softly as she lay upon the couch. A thin line of drool hung from the corner of her open mouth. Her hair was messy and clumped together.

The first light of dawn shone through the window and slowly made its way to where the girl slept.

As soon as the light touched her, her face scrunched up and her eyes fluttered open.

"Ugh...! What time is it?" the brunette said tiredly as she sat up. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and looked around. She then noticed where she was. "This isn't my room..." she said tiredly before scratching her head and letting out a yawn.

She then remembered the events that had happened so far and scowled.

'_Stupid teachers making us take this stupid deadly test! As soon as this is over I'm going to find the guy who came up with this idea and punch him in the face!_' she thought irritably.

She stood up and her foot bumped into something on the floor.

The girl looked down and saw a large backpack lying at her feet.

"Huh? A bag?" she asked picking up the object.

Karly examined the backpack and noticed a piece of paper attached to it.

She removed the paper and examined it, flipping it over to find a note.

_Good morning! I congratulate you and your friends on making it this far. I've been watching you all for a while. And I must say I am impressed. So I thought that I should give you all a gift to make things a little easier for you. I have also given your friends upstairs a map with a highlighted route that would lead you to the destination within a day or two. Only lesser Heartless and Demons come out during the day so it's best that you leave immediately. For once night falls, things will become all the more dangerous. Good luck to you. I look forward to seeing you all grow in strength._

_Sincerely,_

_A friend._

Karly arched a brow at the letter but decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth.

She looked through the backpack and noted several of the items inside.

There was a first aid kit, a few food rations, and lastly several sources of illumination such as four packs of matches with four matches each, four flare sticks, and four flashlights.

She raised an eyebrow at the peculiarity of the items but then shrugged it off.

With that done she looped the backpack over her shoulders and went upstairs to check on her friends.

She reached the first bedroom and opened the door to see both Xion and Terra waking up.

Xion was rubbing her eyes while Terra was sitting up, though her head was nodding up and down a lot, obviously trying to remain awake.

"Hey Karly..." Xion said before letting out a yawn. Terra copied her and released a cute yawn as well. "What time is it?" she asked while stretching.

"Um, seven I think. Hey, listen! You wouldn't believe what just happened-!" the brunette said excitedly.

"Wait! Did you just say seven?" the ravenette asked fully waking up.

"Uh, yeah..." Karly said not seeing where this was going.

"You were supposed to wake us up at six! Did you fall asleep or something?!" the girl asked, piercing the brunette with her sharp, blue eyes.

"Uh... Well..." Karly said sheepishly as she looked anywhere but into her friend's eyes.

Xion facepalmed with a groan. She was about to reprimand her friend when she noticed the backpack on her back.

"Where'd you get that backpack?" she asked suspiciously.

"Well that's what I was trying to tell you earlier. I found this on the floor in front of the couch when I woke up. And I also found this note attached to it." the brunette said as she walked over to the girl and handed her the note.

The ravenette examined the note and frowned. "Why would he leave us a backpack filled with supplies?" she asked as she looked at the girl.

(**Plot convenience?**)

"I don't know. But I have a feeling that we might need everything that's in that bag.

'_Why do I have the feeling that you're right Terra? And why does that scare me so much?_' she asked herself silently. A sense of dread was beginning to well up in her gut. She had a terrible feeling that she was going to have a lot of nightmares for the next few weeks.

Just then a knock sounded on the door and Shin walked in.

"Anyone care to tell me why I found a map with a path highlighted to the mountain on it on my bed when I woke up?" he asked holding up said items.

Karly decided to skip explaining it and just handed him the letter.

The boy read the letter and frowned. He didn't like the fact that someone was able to sneak in and leave these weapons for them without anyone noticing.

"Why would anyone give us these supplies? And why so few?" he asked thinking that this could very well be a trap.

"Isn't it obvious?" Karly asked as she put a hand on her hips. "This guy wants us to get stronger so he could fight us! That's why he left these weapons for us." she said crossing her arms.

"I don't know. If that was the case then why didn't they leave us any weapons or more supplies that this? This whole thing feels like a trap to me." the brown-haired boy said crossing his arms.

"If this person was setting a trap then why give us these supplies in the first place?" challenged the brunette.

"I don't know?!" Shin said throwing his arms up.

"It doesn't matter right now. We should take advantage of this and start making our way towards the place marked on the map." Terra said looking between the two.

"You're right." Shin said with a sigh. "The more time we waste arguing, the more dangerous it gets." he said running a hand through his hair.

"He's right. Let's get going." Xion said with a nod.

"But first I think we should freshen up. I don't know about you three but after the day I had yesterday I could use a shower." Karly said with a grimace. After trekking through a haunted forest, fighting a death obsessed ghost, climbing a freezing cold mountain, fighting a giant demon, and running away from an endless horde of monsters, she definitely needed one.

"We can't waste any time. Once we get back home then you can take a bath. But right now we need to keep moving if we want to stay alive." Shin said crossing his arms.

The brunette huffed and crossed her arms as she looked away.

"Let's get going." Xion said as the situation started becoming awkward.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Several hours later...<span>**

**Play Kingdom Hearts OST- The 13th Floor**

After traveling through the ruined Castle Town of Fortuna the group of four found an old mining town and encountered the remains of a lion centaur, which was a creature with the head of a lion, the upper body of a man, and the body of a lion from the waist down.

The creature appeared to be frozen solid and once Karly touched its icy tomb the giant monster shattered into fine ice crystals.

They continued on through the old abandoned mines situated within the Lamina Peak.

After traversing the mines and fighting the creatures within it using object found in their environment, the party finally reached one of the landmarks on their map called Fortuna Castle.

Outside the castle a fierce snowstorm raged as thunder rolled through the heavens and lightning struck the highest points of the castle.

The party hurried inside for cover.

(**One cliché haunted castle? Check!**)

They entered the beautiful yet eerie castle's main hall and examined the area.

All throughout the room were shattered furniture as well as a dozen rotting zombie corpses.

(**Looks like someone forgot to clean up after themselves.**)

"It looks like we weren't the first ones here." Shin said as saw the various eviscerated corpses.

"Whoever went through here must be really strong." Terra said as she nudged a zombie's corpse with her foot.

"Apparently so. We should keep our eyes peeled for any enemies." Xion said as she looked around the area.

"We have to get through this castle in order to reach the spot on the map so let's get going." Karly said as she moved towards one of the doorways at either side of the room.

* * *

><p><strong><span>One Haunted Castle Dungeon Later!<span>**

After traversing through the castle and surviving its hordes of Heartless, Zombies, and Demons as well as solving several puzzles and the odd encounter with the corpse of a giant frog-like demon that was completely charred through like an overcooked burger, the party now stood before the drawbridge that led to the next location on the map called Mitis Forest.

"Okay, let's agree to never speak of what happened in that Godforsaken place ever again!" Karly said with a shudder.

"Agreed!" the others said with their own shudders. The things in there terrified and disturbed them enough to last a lifetime. But that would be an explanation for another day.

"That castle took a lot more time than I thought." Shin said looking at his watch seeing that it was around 5:00. In a few more hours night would be upon them. And they were sorely in need of supplies.

"At least we can move on ahead now." Xion said as she looked at the split waterfall that the bridge lead to. Behind the falls was a cave that led to the next location.

"Right." the only boy in the group said and the party began to walk across the bridge.

As they walked across the bridge, Terra was thinking about the numerous dead monsters they had come across so far. It started when they found the remains of that giant lion centaur that was frozen solid outside of the mines. Then there were the numerous corpses of dozens of Zombies strewn all throughout the castle. She assumed that whatever Heartless had been there had been wiped out as well. But it was difficult to be certain since Heartless didn't leave behind any corpses and Demons turn into dust when they die. The trail finally ended when they came across the giant, charred frog carcass. All of this was unsettling to her.

"Hey guys..." the green-haired girl asked earning their attention. "Didn't you find all of the remains we kept finding all over the castle a little strange?" she asked holding her hands behind her back as she looked down in thought.

**(Not really. I mean I find remains all over the Underworld and I don't find it strange.**)

"It is strange..." Shin said crossing his arms. "But that's something we can't dwell on right now. We have a clear path and the smart thing to do right now would be to keep going. " he said walking to the girl and placing a hand on her shoulder.

(**Yes. Logic dictates that you should follow the path of carnage that was left by obviously stronger people. Your mother must be so proud!**)

"I know Shin... But seeing all of those bodies... Especially the giant ones... It's unsettling." she said uneasily.

"I agree with Terra. Whoever took down those giants must be really strong." Xion said as she crossed her arms in thought.

If there was someone strong enough to take down such strong monsters then they needed to be wary and avoid any conflict with them.

The ravenette made a mental list of anyone who could be powerful enough to cause such devastation. She added anyone she considered even remotely powerful among the student body and narrowed down the list of likely suspects until she had only a handful of students.

Chief among them were Lea, Ienzo, and Myde. Aeros, Ignis, Kokoro, and that silver-haired girl she had seen with them were also present. But the more she thought on it, the more none of them seemed to match what they had seen thus far.

It was a confusing conundrum.

(**I'm surprised that someone supposedly as smart as you could get confused? It's actually quite obvious really.)**

(Maybe to you. But _they_ don't know that.)

(**The audience or the characters?**)

(...)

"We'll most likely find out who the person or persons responsible are later. Right now we should get going." Shin said making the others nod in agreement.

They walked across the bridge and entered the tunnel that lead to Mitis Forest behind the waterfall. As soon as they stepped off the bridge, it rose back up and blocked the entrance. The waterfall closed like a curtain and hid the bridge from view.

"Looks like there's no going back." Shin said with a grimace seeing as they had no choice but to continue.

The group walked down the tunnel towards their next location.

**End Theme**

They exited the tunnel and came upon the expansive Mitis Forest.

(**Mile upon mile of endless trees filled with deadly demons, ferocious wild life, and ravenous, man-eating plants. Have fun!**)

Karly's eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

"I have a feeling that I'm going to HATE this place soon." she said with a groan.

"Let's get going." Shin said as the drop began their descent into the forest.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Four torturous horror filled days later.<span>**

It was now the morning of the fifth and final day of the test's third and final part.

Karly, Xion, Shinryu, and Terra trekked tiredly through the foliage as they made their way to their destination.

They had spent the last few days trudging through this subtropical forest, (**Getting lost, a lot!**) which didn't make sense given the area's high altitude, and surviving it's many death traps, swarms of the plant based Heartless, demons, and of course, fungal based zombies, they were glad to finally be out of that horrendous place, which like the castle, will be covered at a later date.

While traveling through the heart of the forest they found the remains of a giant plant based snake-like creature with the upper half of a woman with the rest of her being a massive snake's body.

They had found the creature lying on the ground completely eviscerated and covered with what could best be described as electrical burns.

It was unsettling seeing another boss class monster dead.

They finally reached the end of the forest and saw their destination at last.

Before them a massive fortress seemingly carved from solid marble stood proudly as it sat in the middle of a lake.

"Thank Cosmos! We're finally out of that God forsaken forest!" Karly said as she wiped the sweat from her brow.

"Is this the place on the map?" Xion asked as she gazed at the building. She was trying to keep her mind off of the things she had experienced up until now. She had a feeling that she'll be getting terrible nightmares for the next few months!

"Yeah, this is the place." Shin said with a nod.

"Great! Now let's get this nightmare over with!" the brunette said ready to get moving.

"Hey... Do you guys hear that?" Terra asked as she closed her eyes.

"Hear what?" Xion asked in curiosity.

The emerald-haired girl listened for the sounds that we're coming from near by. "It sounds like..." she listened closer. "Music?" she said confusedly as she opened her eyes.

"Music?" Xion asked looking at her friend.

Terra nodded.

"Let me guess... We're gonna go and check it out, aren't we?" Karly asked with a sigh. She was starting to wonder why she decided to form a team with these guys.

"Most likely." Shin said with a shrug.

"Great..." the girl said with a groan as she slumped forward.

The party began to walk forward towards the large fortress to see the cause of the fighting.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Meanwhile with people we haven't seen since last chapter.<span>**

The sounds of metal clashing with metal could be heard as several figures fought against a single opponent.

The figures that were fighting were none other than Riku, Sora, Kairi, Naminé, Roxas, Lea, Myde, and surprisingly enough, Vanitas.

The seven were struggling against their opponent, who was skillfully holding them off with ease.

Said opponent was no one else but the alleged Demon of Kingdom Hearts Academy, Damon Chaos.

"Whoa!" Myde cried out in surprise as Damon suddenly appeared in front of him.

The boy smirked and kicked the musician in the chin, knocking him into the air.

He jumped up after him and with a swift spin-kick, sent the blond flying through the air towards the lake, screaming all the while.

**Demyx Owned: 6**

"Demyx!" Naminé called out as she watched her friend sail through the air.

When the head of the disciplinary committee landed on the ground and spun around in time to face an incoming Riku.

The bad boy smirked amusedly as he locked blades with the exhausted silver-haired boy. His blade held firmly in his left hand as he kept his right hand in his pants pocket.

Riku was panting hard as he jumped back from the blade lock he had with the boy.

'_He's so strong! The fact that he's able to hold all of us off single handedly shows just how powerful he is._' the silver-haired boy thought as he glared at the raven-haired young man in front of him.

Damon's smirk then vanished and he sighed boredly. "What a disappointment! I thought you people would be more of a challenge. I mean, I generously gave you all actual weapons for this fight so the least you could do was show me a good time." he said as he holstered his crimson blade onto his back.

"Why are you even fighting us?" Kairi asked as she looked at the boy.

"Haven't you already figured it out?" the boy asked as he looked at the girl. "I'm the final challenge between you and passing. Get passed me and you pass no problem. But since it's so easy for me to kick your asses I guess that none of you have what it takes to stay at KHA." he said with a sigh. "So I guess that it's time to put an end to this farce." he said pointing his left hand at the fighters.

"What the hell are you talking about?!" Vanitas asked while gritting his teeth. He had a bad feeling about this.

Energy built up in the black-haired boy's outstretched hand.

"Bye!" Damon said with a friendly grin as he unleashed his attack.

A large explosion engulfed the area, blocking everything from view.

(I'll be taking care of the narration from here on out.)

* * *

><p><strong><span>With Karly and company!<span>**

Karly, Shin, Terra, and Xion were running down the long path that led to the large fortress when they saw a large explosion erupt on the raised platform before them.

They stopped dead in their tracks just as a sword and two large masses flew from the explosion and hit the ground in front of them.

"What blew up?" Karly asked as she looked at the giant cloud of smoke blocking their view of the platform.

"I don't know. But we should tread carefully." Shin said as he stared at the cloud.

Terra looked down and gasped in shock.

"Sora!" the Mage said as she looked at the brown haired boy on the ground.

The other party members went to the boy's side and checked his vitals.

"He's still alive. But he's hurt pretty bad." Shin said after checking Sora's vitals.

It was true. Sora was a mess. His clothing was torn in some places, he was bleeding and bruised, and he looked as if he was in terrible pain.

"Terra start healing him. I'm going to see if the other guy's alright." Karly said before she turned to tend to the other individual that was blown away from the blast.

The brunette moved over to the other person and examined their features.

'_Whoa... He looks just like Sora! Only with black hair and darker clothes._' she thought as she moved the boy to lie on his back.

The boy was Vanitas and he looked as if he came out of a war zone.

"Hey Xion, help me out with this guy." the brunette said motioning for her friend to join her.

The ravenette took one look at the boy and instantly scowled.

"Oh great... It's him." she said unenthusiastically.

"You know him?" the other girl asked curiously.

"He's the guy that pisses me off on a daily basis!" Xion said with a growl.

"So he's your boyfriend or something?" Karly asked with an arched brow.

The black-haired girl looked at her friend with a look of horror on her face.

"NO! And in case you didn't hear me the first time, HELL NO! This guy's a sexist, arrogant, prick! I would sooner make out with Myde than even THINK of going out with him!" she said vehemently.

"A simple no would have sufficed." Karly said with a sweatdrop. "Let's at least check if he's still alive." she said looking at Vanitas.

"Sure thing." Xion said before giving a sharp punch to Vanitas' gut, causing him to groan in pain. "There, he's alive. You can heal him." she said with a scowl. Even though she hated him, she couldn't leave him to suffer like this.

The ravenette stood up and looked down the path that led towards the platform and noticed the sword lying on the ground.

She looked at the sword curiously as a sense of familiarity filled her. "Where have I seen that sword before?" she muttered to herself as she looked over the blade. The one thing about the blade was the silver guard with an X-shaped symbol on it... wait a minute!

"Roxas!" she in shock as she looked from the blade to the large plume of smoke.

"What was that Xion?" Karly asked looking to her black-haired friend only to see her grab and pull out the sword and run towards the platform.

"Xion!" Terra said in shock.

"Is she crazy?!" Karly asked incredulously.

"Come on!" Shin said as he chased the ravenette with the other girls following after him.

* * *

><p><strong><span>On the platform!<span>**

Xion climbed the stairs that led to the platform and nearly choked on the thick smoke there.

As she moved through the smoke she looked around for the owner of the sword she held in her hand.

"Roxas?!" she called out before the smoke started to makes her cough. "Roxas, where are you?!" she said as she looked around for the blond.

She then heard what sounded like footsteps slowly walking towards her.

"Roxas?" the ravenette asked hopefully as she covered her mouth and nose to prevent another coughing fit.

The footsteps stopped and then there was the sound of something swinging through the air and the smoke was blown away by a strong wind within moments.

Xion shielded her eyes from the wind as the smoke dissipated.

When the smoke cleared the girl opened her eyes and saw a terrible site.

All around her were the unmoving forms of Riku, Kairi, Naminé, Lea, and...

"Roxas!" Xion shouted in worry as she ran to the downed blond. "Roxas! Roxas, wake up!" she said as she flipped the boy onto his back and shook him.

Roxas groaned weakly as he regained consciousness.

"X-Xion?" the boy asked weakly as he opened his eyes.

"Thank the Great Will! You're alright!" the girl said in relief as she helped the boy sit up.

"Ugh, it feels like I got hit by a Behemoth." the blond said weakly.

(**How would you know what that would be like?**)

"What happened?" the girl asked worriedly.

"Yeah, that would be me." a male voice said from right behind the two.

The ravenette turned around and saw a boy with black hair and red eyes with a small smirk on his face and his hands in his pockets.

"Who are you?" the girl asked warily.

"Oh! Where are my manners?!" the boy said palming his forehead. "Let me introduce myself. My name is Damon Chaos. Head Captain of the Kingdom Hearts Academy Disciplinary Committee. And I'll be the boss for this part of the story." he said giving the girl a formal bow with his left arm on his chest and his right arm extended out to the side.

(**Did he just break the fourth wall?**)

(Like you just did?)

"You're the one who did this?!" Xion asked with a growl as she glared at Damon.

"Yeah." the head of the disciplinary committee said nonchalantly. "I'm the final obstacle they had to get by in order to enter the fortress behind me and pass. But they were all too easy really. None of them were even able to land one hit on me." he said with a sigh while shaking his head.

"He kept playing with us. Made all of us look like amateurs." Roxas said as he gritted his teeth and held his side in pain. The pain was so strong that he had to keep one eye closed.

"Well since you're here now, let's see if you got the chops to take me on?" the black-haired boy said as he drew his broadsword and held it in his left hand while keeping his right hand in his pocket.

"FALCON... PAWNCH!" a female voice shouted as Karly suddenly flew in and launched a punch at Damon.

The boy easily avoided the attack by jumping back.

Karly stood before the head of the disciplinary committee with a fierce look in her eyes as she retracted her still outstretched fist.

Just then Terra, Shin, and the now fully healed Sora and Vanitas, ran onto the platform and stood around Xion and Roxas.

Karly glanced around and saw the defeated forms of her friends. She tilted her head down slightly, causing shadows to cover her eyes.

"Did you do this?" she muttered in a dangerous tone.

The tone in which she spoke was so dark that it sent shivers down the spines of Sora, Roxas, Xion, Terra, and Shin. They had never seen her like this before. Karly had always come off as someone who took things easy and never got upset over anything. Even though they didn't know her all that well, they were still unsettled by the sudden change in demeanor.

"Yep! A few of them were able to put up a pretty decent fight. But they were still pretty weak." He said with a sigh. "Perhaps you might give me a challenge? If you can manage to somehow beat me then you pass. Easy, no?" he asked with a grin.

"Karly wait!" Roxas said urgently. "That's how he got everyone else to fight him. If you take him on you'll lose!" he said as he got to his knees.

"You're on!" the brunette said with a steely look in her eyes.

"Wait, we don't know how strong he is!" Xion said trying to stop her friend from doing something brash.

"I don't care! No one hurts my friends and gets away with it!" Karly said while glaring at the boy before her.

"That's the spirit! Now show me what you can do!" Damon said with a grin as he reached into his right pocket and pulled out a small remote.

He pressed a button on it and loud rock music blasted through the air from everywhere and nowhere all at once.

He then placed the remote back into his pocket, keeping his right hand in there and rested his blade on his left shoulder.

**Play Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance OST- The Only Thing I Know For Real**

"Huh, never pegged you for a MGR fan." Karly said with a blank look.

"One, it's a good game. And two, there's a lot that you don't know about me babe!" Damon said with a smirk. "Now in order to make this fair you can all grab more suitable weapons from over a that rack right there and we can get right onto the main event!" he said while gesturing to a nearby weapons rack that had many weapons on it, in clouding Karly's sword. (Convenient)

(**Hey, I was going to say that!**)

The brunette looked over at the rack and saw her sword. She quickly retrieved it and went back to face off against the boy.

"Ready to get your ass handed to you?" Damon asked with a smirk.

"Whatever! I'm not going to hold back!" the girl said before drawing in power. Within moments she released it and was enveloped in a glowing white aura.

"Is that... Ex-Mode?!" Shin said in shock.

"Oh, I can tell that you're going to be fun." the black-haired boy said with a smirk.

With a fierce cry, Karly charged forward at Damon.

**Normal Narrator: Our heroes have finally reached the end of the final test. But now they face their most powerful opponent yet. Will they emerge victorious? Or will they know the bitter taste of defeat? Final out next time on Kingdom Hearts Academy!**

**End of chapter 7**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Author's Notes<span>**

Titano Man: And that marks the end of this chapter. I would have done much more to bring out the survival horror theme I was going for but _someone_ kept dragging it out!

**Hades****: I thought you liked constructive criticism?**

Karly: Criticism? More like riffing.

**Hades****: ***sarcastically* **Is there a difference?**

Xion: Um, yes.

Titano Man: Well anyways, thanks to Hades I had decided to split this chapter up. The fight and the test will reach its conclusion next chapter, honest. Now show the teaser!

Teaser:

Karly: I... Lost...?

Terra: He's so strong!

Damon: You got me with that one there.

Xion: How... are you... so strong...?

**Narrator****: Next time, Final Exam Battle**

Titano Man: So with that, this is Titano Man XIII and I am... *trails off when he sees a red glow flashing from the window.* Um, what's that?

Karly**:** I'm not sure... But it feels intense!

Titano Man: Let me guess... There's a flame war going on outside?

**Hades****: Yep!**

Titano Man: Lots of shouting, cursing, and whining?

Xion: Oh yeah.

Titano Man: Bring it on...

*Three seconds later Titano Man is seen facing his front door with the Sword of Trollsbane in hand.*

Titano Man: *Runs outside* BOOOYAAAA!

Kairi: See you all next time!


	8. Final Exam Battle

*A Corridor of Darkness opens up and Titano Man walks into the room.*

Titano Man: Ah! There's nothing like bashing a few trolls in the face with your bare fists that picks you right up in the morning!

**Hades****: My, someone's in a chipper mood this morning.**

Titano Man: You're STILL here?! I thought you got bored and left?

**Hades****: I was, but then I found the buffet and decided to just hang out here for a little while longer.**

Titano Man: So you're the reason the buffet had to be closed!

**Hades****: Guilty as charged!**

Titano Man: I hate you...

**Hades****: So how was your first flame war?**

Titano Man: Intense... I found out that it was just a bunch of loser otakus attacking a poor reviewer for giving a few harmless suggestions over how a nearby story should progress and they all went into a tizzy.

Karly: Wow. I thought that stuff only happened on YouTube.

Titano Man: It just goes to show how powerful these trolls are becoming. And thanks to my meddling I had attracted the attention of this league of evil internet trolls. So I'm going to need a new outfit in order to fight these guys.

Xion: Why?

Titano Man: Well you have to look stylish if you want to fight evil. Somebody roll the disclaimer while I get changed.

**Hades****: I got it. Titano Man XIII does not own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, or Final Fantasy in general, Pokémon, or anything else that he decides to put into this story. The only this he does own are all of the OCs that appear in this story with the exception of Shinryu Verus, who belongs to The Unknowing Herald.**

Titano Man: Thank you. Now on with the show!

* * *

><p><strong>Final Kingdom Arc 1 Kingdom Hearts Academy<strong>

**Narrator****: Our heroes have finally reached the end of the second test. They have survived the many perils and had reached their destination. But upon arriving they find a grisly scene! Many of their fellow schoolmates as well as their friends had been struck down by the head captain of the Kingdom Hearts Academy Disciplinary Committee, Damon Chaos. Enraged at the site of her fallen friends Karly unleashed the power of EX-Mode for the first time, ready to put an end to him. Will she succeed? Read on to find out.**

**Play anime opening!**

The scene opened to show a large, circular platform that stood in front of a large and impressive looking fortress.

On the platform were our heroes among with Sora, Roxas, and Vanitas.

Across from them, smirking in amusement was the head captain of the Kingdom Hearts Academy Disciplinary Committee, Damon Chaos.

The screen freezes on Damon's smirking face and the name of the episode appears.

**Final Exam Battle**

Karly glanced around and saw the defeated forms of her friends. She tilted her head down slightly, causing shadows to cover her eyes.

"Did you do this?" she muttered in a dangerous tone.

The tone in which she spoke was so dark that it sent shivers down the spines of Sora, Roxas, Xion, Terra, and Shin. They had never seen her like this before. Karly had always come off as someone who took things easy and never got upset over anything. Even though they didn't know her all that well, they were still unsettled by the sudden change in demeanor.

"Yep! A few of them were able to put up a pretty decent fight. But they were still pretty weak." He said with a sigh. "Perhaps you might give me a challenge? If you can manage to land at least one hit on me then you pass. Easy, no?" he asked with a grin.

"Karly wait!" Roxas said urgently. "That's how he got everyone else to fight him. If you take him on you'll lose!" he said as he got to his knees.

"You're on!" the brunette said with a steely look in her eyes.

"Wait, we don't know how strong he is!" Xion said trying to stop her friend from doing something brash.

"I don't care! No one hurts my friends and gets away with it!" Karly said while glaring at the boy before her.

"That's the spirit! Now show me what you can do!" Damon said with a grin as he reached into his right pocket and pulled out a small remote.

He pressed a button on it and loud rock music blasted through the air from everywhere and nowhere all at once.

He then placed the remote back into his pocket, keeping his right hand in there and rested his blade on his left shoulder.

**Play Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance OST- The Only Thing I Know For Real**

"Huh, never pegged you for a MGR fan." Karly said with a blank look.

"One, it's a good game. And two, there's a lot that you don't know about me babe!" Damon said with a smirk. "Now in order to make this fair you can all grab more suitable weapons from over a that rack right there and we can get right onto the main event!" he said while gesturing to a nearby weapons rack that had many weapons on it, in clouding Karly's sword. (Convenient)

The brunette looked over at the rack and saw her sword. She quickly retrieved it and went back to face off against the boy.

"Ready to get your ass handed to you?" Damon asked with a smirk.

"Whatever! I'm not going to hold back!" the girl said before drawing in power. Within moments she released it and was enveloped in a glowing white aura.

"Is that... Ex-Mode?!" Shin said in shock.

"Oh, I can tell that you're going to be fun." the black-haired boy said with a smirk.

With a fierce cry, Karly charged forward at Damon.

She came at him with a downward swipe from her sword but the boy easily sidestepped the attack.

With a growl she made a horizontal swipe but again the boy dodged by back stepping away.

He looked at her with a smirk not even moving his sword from his shoulder.

She made to stab him with her sword but he literally batted it aside with his right hand as soon as the blade moved towards him.

Damon then kneed Karly in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her lungs.

He then pushed her away and watched as she coughed and tried to catch her breath.

"Is that all you can do?" the black-haired boy asked with an arched brow.

"Not even close...!" the brunette wheezed while glaring at her opponent and holding her stomach.

Suddenly there was a fierce cry shout of determination coming from behind Damon and he turned around to see Xion running at him with a sword in hand, ready to strike.

The ravenette jumped into the air and spun launching a vertical strike.

The boy acted quickly and brought his blade out to block the attack.

"Not bad! You got me to use my sword a lot faster than the other guys. I should probably take you seriously." the boy said with an amused smirk as the girl landed on the ground, her blade still locked with his.

Karly then recovered and charged at the boy aiming to deliver a powerful punch to the back of his head, but Damon was able to see this coming thanks to his sword being angled in a way that allowed him to see what was happening behind him.

He ended his blade lock with Xion and jumped to the side just in time for Karly's punch to miss his head and hit the ravenette square in the face.

Xion felt something break and blood flow out from her nose as she was sent flying to the other side of the arena.

"Sorry!" Karly said wincing as her friend hit the floor, now sporting a broken and bloody nose.

"You should be more careful there! You're bound to hurt someone with that monster strength of yours." Damon said in a friendly tone and a large grin on his face, which only pissed Karly off more.

"I'm going to beat the ever loving crap out of you!" she shouted as she once again charged at the boy.

Xion quickly recovered, fixing her nose in the process, and rejoined in the fight.

"Damn it! At this rate she'll get herself and the rest of us killed." Shin said with gritted his teeth as he watched Karly fight recklessly against her opponent, making many mistakes, which got both Xion and herself hurt.

"We have to help them!" Terra said as she looked to the boy.

"Right. Can you still fight?" the brown-haired boy asked as he looked at Roxas.

"Yeah." the boy said with a nod. "She's a pretty good healer." he said referring to Terra as he stood up. "Do you think you could support us with some magic?" the blond asked while looking at the Mage.

"I'll see what I can do." Terra said with a nod before moving to draw a saber from the weapons rack.

Roxas picked up his sword, which Xion had left by his side, and looked at Sora and his dark doppelgänger, Vanitas.

"You're gonna help?" he asked the two.

"Do you even have to ask?" Sora replied with a grin as he held up his sword.

Roxas nodded and smiled at his brother before he shifted his gaze to Vanitas.

"And you?" he asked warily. Something about this guy was pretty off. And the fact that he looked like his brother didn't help in the matter.

"Tch, I'm not helping you idiots 'cause I want to. Nobody kicks my ass and gets away with it!" the black-haired boy said with a growl as he pulled out his sword.

"Okay, looks like you got yourself some backup." Roxas said as he looked at Shin.

"Thanks. Now let's help the girls before they get they get hurt." Shin said as he went to the rack and drew a great sword from it before looking back to the battle just in time to see both Karly and Xion get knocked away by Damon, who didn't so much as have a scratch on him.

"Next!" the boy said placing sword back onto his shoulder.

Vanitas scowled at the boy and charged at him.

"Wait we need a plan!" Shin said trying to stop the boy.

Vanitas and Damon clashed their blades several times before they locked blades.

Vanitas was sweating from exertion while Damon was completely relaxed with one hand holding his sword and the other in his pocket. Angry, golden-amber eyes glared into calm, amused, blood-red orbs as Vanitas tried to overpower his opponent.

"Didn't you learn your lesson the last time?" Damon asked as he arched a brow with a smirk on his face.

"Shut up!" Vanitas said with a growl. That smirk was really starting to piss him off!

"Looks like I'm gonna have to beat it into you." Damon said with a shake of his head.

The older boy took his hand out of his pocket and pointed his palm at Vanitas' stomach.

"Boom..." he said as his hand began to glow.

"What the?!" the younger boy said in shock as he looked down at the glowing hand.

The boy was then sent flying back as a small spell exploded on his gut.

At this moment Roxas, Sora, and Shin ran in swords drawn.

Shin made a diagonal swipe with his large sword but Damon was able to block and make the boy recoil.

The black-haired boy then sent the brunet skidding back with a strong punch to the gut.

Sora and Roxas then double teamed the Dante wanna-be with a flurry of combos only for their opponent to either flawlessly dodge, parry, or block their attacks.

Just as Shin recovered, Karly, who was no longer in her Ex-Mode, and Xion rushed passed him aiming to help their friends.

Karly jumped into the air and swung her sword horizontally at the black-haired boy's head.

Damon turned around just in time to see the attack coming.

He jumped back and tilted his head back far enough for the attack to nearly miss his crimson eyes.

"Whoa, you almost got me there!" he said with a grin. These people were starting to impress him.

Xion went to stab at him but he was able to grab her outstretched arm with his right hand and began to spin around in place and spun the girl threw the air.

The black-haired boy then tossed the ravenette through the air and she crashed into Roxas and Sora, sending all three of them to the floor.

Vanitas then charged at Damon from behind and gave a mighty yell as he lifted his sword into the air.

But the older boy spun around and blocked the attack, much to the younger boy's shock.

"You know, a sneak attack works a lot better if you didn't let your enemy know that you were coming." he said with a blank look on his face. He then knocked Vanitas away by swinging his sword.

"Hey, over here!" Karly shouted as she rushed at the boy.

Damon looked at the girl and easily sidestepped her attack.

"What did I just finish saying?" he asked in exasperation right before he jumped back in time to avoid another attack from the brunette.

"I am going to kick your ass!" Karly said as she rushed in, sword ready to cut the man in two.

Damon swung his blade one handedly clashing with the girl's every strike with ease.

They kept clashing blades until they ended up in a bladelock.

Both put all of their strength into the struggle, their weapons gradually glowing red and releasing sparks from the pressure put on them.

The brunette glared at the boy while he just smirked.

Then, with the flick of the wrist, Damon ended the bladelock and sent Karly's sword flying into the air.

The girl's allies gasped in shock as they saw they blade fly away.

'_No way...!_' Karly thought in disbelief as the blade left her grasp.

Damon smirked at his opening. "Bye!" he said as he made his move.

Within the blink of an eye the boy appeared behind Karly with his sword out to the side.

"Wha...?" the brunette said in confusion as she looked down and didn't see a wound.

"You lose!" the black-haired boy said shouldering his blade.

As soon as he said that a massive torrent of blood gushed out of Karly's torso from two mirroring diagonal slashes forming an X over her chest and one horizontal slash across her stomach.

The girl coughed up blood and fell to her knees. She looked down at her wounds in disbelief. "I... Lost...?" she said just before her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she fell face first to the floor.

Xion was in absolute shock and disbelief. Her friend, the strongest girl she knew, had been defeated. "Karly!" she cried out in shock.

(**You know, if this was an anime then the episode would have cut off right here.**)

(Yes, good thing this isn't an anime. Now hush!)

That seemed to knock everyone out of their shock. Within moments Sora, Roxas, and even Vanitas rushed forward, prepared to avenge their fallen comrade.

Damon clashed and batted away their attacks with relative ease.

After about a minute of clashing blades the three boys backed off to catch their breaths.

"You guys are getting pretty annoying now. Let's fix that." the head of the disciplinary committee said as he pulled his right hand out of his pocket and clenched his fist. Dark red energy flashed over his arm briefly as he pulled his arm back to launch a punch.

The trio tensed waiting for the attack to come.

Within a moment Damon dashed forward, appearing in front Vanitas.

He launched his punch and hit the younger boy in the chest.

"Chaos Fist!" Damon called out as he launched his attack.

As the punch connected, the dark warrior felt like his ribs were getting crushed.

The punch then sent Vanitas flying through the air via an explosion of chaotic energy, off the edge of the platform, and into the water below.

(**Ring Out!**)

"No way!" Sora said in disbelief.

"With just a single punch?!" Roxas asked in shock.

"Next?" Damon asked as he turned to the others.

Xion finally shook off her shock and glared at the boy.

"Terra give me a hand!" the ravenette said as she got into her battle stance.

The emerald-haired girl nodded and readied her saber.

The two girls ran in and proceeded to unleash a flurry of strikes against the boy.

Damon fended off the barrage of attacks with little trouble until Terra managed to land a lucky hit on him.

"I hit him!" the Mage said excitedly as the black-haired boy flinched.

"Let's give him everything we got!" Xion said and the two renewed their assault.

The girls sent another flurry of attacks at the boy, hitting him with everything they had.

Damon was sent skidding back from the combined assault. He had several cuts on his coat and appeared to be slowing slightly.

"Is that all you girls got?" he said righting himself and rolling his shoulders. "You two did a lot better than your friend over there. " he said gesturing to Karly's still form. "You were actually able to land a few hits and were able to damage me." he said shouldering his blade.

Xion growled a bit at the head of the disciplinary committee's jab at her friend.

Without saying a word she and Terra continued their assault.

'_Things are starting to turn around._' Shin thought as he watched the battle. '_Even though he was able to take out Karly like she was nothing, we're starting to wear him down. But still... why do I feel that he's still holding back._' he thought as he watched the black-haired boy send his opponents skidding back. '_We'll need to end this fight, fast! But how?_' the strategist thought as he gritted his teeth.

Xion and Terra backed off their assault panting in exhaustion.

"Even though he slowing down a little he's still so strong!" Terra said as she caught her breath.

"It doesn't matter how strong he is. If we keep chipping away at him then we could win this!" Xion said as she panted tiredly. She was starting to feel exhausted from this whole test.

"That won't be necessary. I got an idea that could work." Shin said as he stood next to the girl.

"What is it?" Xion asked hopefully as she looked at the boy.

"That's classified for now. But when I give the signal, run! Now I'll need to borrow Terra for a bit and for you to buy me some to make it work." he said looking at the girl.

"Alright. I'll try to buy you as much time I can." The ravenette said before rejoining the battle.

"Okay Terra, here's what I need you to do..." Shin said as he looked at the Mage.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Meanwhile a little ways away from the arena!<span>**

Not far from the battle, the three hooded figures from before were watching with interest.

"I'm amazed that they all made it this long against him." the girl in the hooded, white cloak said in an impressed tone as she sat atop a large pillar outside of the arena.

"How long do you think it will be before they force him to go all out." the second girl with the cat-like mask said as she stood on the pillar next to the other girl.

"Probably another few minutes. What do you think?" the first girl asked as she looked to the boy in the hooded white cloak.

"I'll admit that they're pretty strong. But they are still making far too many mistakes. They have already lost two of their comrades because of their recklessness." the boy said calmly as he watched the battle.

"Do you think we should lend a hand?" the girl in the cat mask asked as she looked to the struggling students.

"Not yet. I have a feeling that things are about to get interesting." he said as he eyed the students. Xion in particular.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Back in the fight!<span>**

Sora, Roxas, and Xion slid back from from their opponent after he batted them with his sword.

'_Damn it Shin! What's taking so long?!_' she thought as she panted from exertion. They had been holding Damon off for close to three minutes now and the music that was blasting in the background was really starting to annoy her.

Sick of the song, she glanced around and saw several speakers hooked up to several pillars around the arena.

With a growl and a flick of the wrist, she sent her sword flying through the air.

The blade spun like a disk as it flew in a circular arc, slicing through each speaker and destroying them. Luckily right as the song ended. The blade returned to her hand and she got back into her battle stance.

**End Theme**

"Oh man! You know that you're gonna have to pay me back for those, right?" Damon said with a frown.

"You hurt my friend! I'm not paying you anything!" the ravenette said glaring at the boy.

"Not cool... Now I'm gonna have to get serious here." he said with a sigh. "Too bad... I was really starting to like you guys." he said while scratching the back of his head.

"What are you talking about?" Roxas asked cautiously.

Damon grabbed his sword with both hands and got into a firm stance.

The three stared at the head of the disciplinary committee warily as they got ready for his next move.

"Don't blink." Damon said before suddenly appearing behind the three.

"What...?" the girl asked in confusion as she looked at the boy behind them.

Just then her eyes widened as she felt a searing pain over her chest and stomach.

A large torrent of blood erupted from the trio's torsos and both Sora and Roxas fell to the ground and lost consciousness while Xion fell to her hands and knees.

The girl coughed up a large glob of blood and panted as she tried to stay conscious.

"Still up, huh? You're a lot stronger than I thought." the black-haired boy said as he turned around to look at the girl and shoulder his sword.

Xion didn't reply since she was in far too much pain to do so.

"Hey, don't worry! At least you gave it your best shot!" he said with a grin.

The boy then lifted his blade into the air preparing to deliver the final blow.

"Heads up!" Shin shouted as he swung his blade at Damon.

"What?!" the head of the disciplinary committee said as he turned around in time to see Shin coming at him.

The bad boy lifted his blade in time to block the attack but the attack was strong enough to send him skidding back.

"Terra now!" the strategist shouted as he stabbed his Greatsword into the round and set up a barrier around Sora, Roxas, Xion, and himself.

Damon arched a brow in confusion until he noticed a light shining brightly behind him.

The boy turned around and saw Terra Branford hovering a few feet off the ground with a giant ball of fire nearly as big as herself burning fiercely in front of her.

"Take... This!" she shouted, sweating from exertion as she hurled the massive spell the boy.

Damon's eyes widened in shock just as the spell touched down.

The spell released a massive blast and the boy was engulfed in the explosion.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Meanwhile!<strong>

The mysterious trio who had been watching the battle had to brace themselves in order to keep themselves from being blown away from the force of Terra's spell.

"Whoa! I never thought someone could be so powerful!" One of the girls in white coats said as she kept the force of the explosion from blowing off her hood.

"There's more to that girl than meets the eye." the boy said as the winds blew off his hood, but the camera was only on his upper back, keeping his head out of shot.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Back at the fight!<span>**

The explosion and the shock waves from Terra's attack finally subsided.

Shin dropped the barrier and sighed in relief.

"What happened?" Xion asked weakly as she looked at the giant plume of smoke coming from where the spell hit.

"My plan." the brown-haired boy said tiredly. "While you were keeping that guy busy, I had Terra charge up her Flare spell, don't ask me how she knows it 'cause I don't know. Anyways, I told her to put everything into it and release it when I gave the word. Suffice to say, it worked like a charm." he explained as he sat down feeling exhausted. This certainly was one stressful battle.

"Is Terra alright?" the ravenette asked as she pushed herself up to her knees. She winced and placed a hand to her chest to stem the bleeding and to hold her ruined clothing closed.

The gash she got from Damon's attack went from her collarbone, down the length of her chest, going between her breasts, and ending at her stomach. Luckily the rest of her shirt below that was intact albeit stained heavily by her blood.

This means that her shirt and bra were ruined beyond repair. Miraculously her breasts were still hidden from view even without her having to hold it closed, granted that it was only some slight side boob. Which prevented the rating of this story from being bumped up, much to the disappointment of the male audience.

"She should be alright." the boy said as he dug into his pocket and pulled out a few Hi-Potions. "This should help with your injuries. And make sure to help Sora and Roxas too." he said handing the bottles to the girl.

"Thanks..." the girl said accepting the item.

She uncorked the bottle and proceeded to pour its contents onto her wound. She released a sharp hiss and whimpered in pain as the curative item healed her injury. She hated the burning sensation that accompanies an item like this.

Within moments the wound disappeared without a trace.

She then used the remaining bottles to wake up Sora and Roxas.

Both boys groaned as they regained consciousness.

"Better?" Shin asked as the girl panted and held her shirt closed again.

Xion nodded as the burning sensation faded. "Where's Terra?" she asked tiredly.

Her answer came when an extremely exhausted looking Terra walked out of the smoke.

She had a tired smile on her face as she looked at her friends.

"Great job Terra." Shin said with a small smile.

The Mage giggled tiredly. "I think... I think we won!" she said tiredly as she caught herself from falling.

"Yeah... no!" a familiar voice said from within the smoke plume.

Suddenly a ball of condensed energy shot out of the smoke too fast for anyone to react in time.

The next thing anyone knew, the ball of energy struck Terra on her back and exploded before it sent her flying towards the group.

Shin was able to catch her and saw that she was out cold.

"Terra!" Xion cried out as Shin laid the girl down.

Just then the smoke finally cleared to reveal a very weakened looking Damon Chaos with his right hand extended in front of him. He looked like a mess and was panting heavily. His clothing was greatly damaged with many tears and burn marks on it. His sword also had several cracks on it.

"H-how?!" Shin in absolute disbelief.

"Gotta admit... You got me with that one... But that's the closest I'll ever come to losing to a bunch of freshmen." he said while panting tiredly. He righted himself and holstered his sword onto his back. "Let me show you just what I can do!" he said crossing his arms in an 'X' fashion in front of his face.

Damon started building up a large amount of power as our heroes watched on in disbelief.

For the next few moments electricity flowed around Damon as he continued to build up power.

When he finished gathering the energy he needed he looked at our heroes with a fierce look in his eyes.

"Get ready for the most epic thing you've ever seen." he said calmly before closing his eyes. "Feel the chaos!" he said as he threw his arms out and released the power he had been building up.

Pure chaotic energy flooded the area with massive force. So much force that everyone was nearly blown away from the force of the energy.

'_What the hell?!_' Shin thought as he felt the pure chaotic energy flow through the air in waves. He looked towards Damon and saw that the boy was covered in a bright red aura of chaotic energy.

The head of the disciplinary committee took a deep breath and opened his eyes, showing that they had changed from his sudden released of power. His eyes were still red but now the irises floated in pitch black sclera. He now looked much more intimidating than he did before.

"S-so much power! There was no way this guy's even human!" Xion said in disbelief.

"Keep your guard up." Shin said as he shifted into a defensive stance.

Several moments pass and Damon didn't move from his spot.

Xion couldn't help but arch a brow in confusion.

Just then the black-haired boy's form began to flicker and become transparent.

Shin's eyes widened in shock.

"An after image!" he shouted in shock at the site.

Faster than they could even blink Damon appeared in front of the brunet and punched him in the face with his right fist.

Shin was sent sailing through the air at high speed unable to recover from the devastating hit.

Damon reappeared behind the boy and kicked him into the air.

He then appeared above the boy and sent him speeding into the ground with a strong kick.

The impact kicked up a large cloud of dust obscuring everyone's view of the strategist.

The cloud soon cleared and showed that the boy was down for the count.

"Shin!" Sora called out in shock.

Just then Damon appeared between Sora and Roxas before they could even blink.

Both boys gasped in shock before the head of the disciplinary committee grabbed both of their heads and slammed them into the ground, taking them out of the fight as well.

"Sora! Roxas!" Xion called out in alarm.

He then blurred out of sight and the ravenette looked around trying to catch sight of her opponent.

She then felt incredible pain in her stomach and looked down to see Damon's fist buried in her gut. She coughed up blood and felt as if her insides had been crushed by the impact. It was likely that she had some internal bleeding.

Damon removed his fist and then knocked her away with a powerful kick.

Xion rolled across the ground for several moments until she came to a stop on the other side of the arena.

She coughed and hacked up the blood that was beginning to fill up her throat as she tried to pick herself back up. But the every exempt failed. She began coughing once more and flopped back down to the ground.

She looked at Damon as her vision began to blur.

As the girl was struggling to stay conscious, Damon walked over to her.

He stopped next to her and crouched down as the aura around him faded.

"I got to admit, you people are a lot stronger than I first thought." he said with a grin as he gently stroked the girl's raven hair.

Xion tried to level a glare at the boy, but it only came out as a grimace.

She began another coughing fit as she felt it getting harder and harder to breathe.

"Let me help you with that." he said holding his hand over the girl's chest. He muttered a Cura spell and a green glow enveloped the ravenette's body.

Xion suddenly found it easier to breath, but still couldn't find the strength to move her body. As she looked up at the older boy she felt herself begin to lose consciousness.

"You and your friends have a lot of potential. I'm looking forward to seeing how strong you guys will get. After all, you guys nearly beat me, so you gotta be something special." he said with a grin as he sat down crossing his legs.

"H-how... are you... so... strong...?" Xion muttered weakly as her eyes began to drift close.

"Well I'm afraid that's a secret. But I'm sure that you'll find out in the future." he said mysteriously.

With his piece said Damon stood up and began to walk away.

Xion's eyes tried to follow him but her vision became too blurry to see anything else and her world went black.

* * *

><p><strong><span>An Indeterminate Amount of Time Later<span>**

It was dark.

No scratch that...

It was pitch black.

As Xion was slowly regaining awareness, she saw nothing but utter blackness clouding her vision.

'_Ugh..._' she thought in confusion as she took several deep breaths through her nose. She felt lethargic for some reason, as if all her body wanted to do was sleep for the rest of her life. '_Where am I?_' she thought as she tried to ascertain where she currently was. Unfortunately her senses were dulled to the point of nonexistence which made her efforts all for naught.

'_What happened?_' she thought as she tried to recall how she got into this situation.

The memories flowed like a river to the front of her mind. She remembered that the entire school had been forced to take a special exam to see if they were all worthy of staying in the school. She remembered breezing through the first test and moving through the second test without much difficulty. The third test was quite difficult, but manageable. But then she remembered the fight with Damon that happened at the end. She remembered how each of her friends had been taken down one by one. They were so close to victory, but then he released a sudden burst of power and mopped the floor with them in a matter of seconds. She gritted her teeth at the memory. She never thought someone could be that strong.

'_That battle opened my eyes... I have to start taking this seriously. I need to get stronger!_' she thought resolutely.

**...**

'_What... Who's there?!_' she thought in alarm.

**...**

It sounded like a voice whispering something in the distance. She strained to hear what was being said.

...

...

...

**Do you desire power?**

Xion's eyes suddenly snapped open and she inhaled deeply.

She sat up and looked around to see where she was.

The girl saw that she was sitting on a bed in a room filled with medical supplies. To her left was a large baby blue curtain that hung from the ceiling and divided the room.

She was about to get up off the bed when she felt a throbbing pain in her abdomen. She held her stomach in pain and couldn't stop the pained groan from escaping her lips.

Suddenly the sound of something with wheels rolling across the floor was heard coming towards Xion.

The girl looked up in time to see a man sitting backwards on a rolling chair pull up in front of her bed before immediately toppling over onto the floor along with the person riding on it.

"Gyaa, Oomph!" the man cried out as he hit the floor.

The ravenette blinked twice, wondering if the man was alright.

"Wait, that wasn't right. Let's try that again." the man said as he stood back up and walked away, bringing his chair with him.

After a minute the sound of the chair's wheels rolling across the floor was heard again, and like before, the man and his chair toppled over onto the floor in front of Xion's bed with a cry of pain.

The girl couldn't help but sweat drop at the site wondering if the man was slightly insane.

**Play BlazBlue OST- Hollow**

The man stood up and the girl finally got a good look at the man's features.

The man was quite tall with what looked like a strong physic under his clothing. He had silver-gray hair, gray eyes, and big, round glasses. One keynote feature he had was a large screw/bolt going straight through his head. He had a long series of stitches going over his left cheek and ending under his left eye. He wore a long-sleeved turtle neck sweater that had two different shades of gray, both light and dark. He wore black slacks with light gray shoes. The signature piece to his attire would have to be the long, white doctor's lab coat that he wore. Like on his face he had sewn stitches all over his clothing.

Xion stared at the odd man for a minute more before he began to speak.

"I see you're awake. How do you feel?" the man asked as he pushed up his glasses, causing them to reflect the light and hide his eyes from view.

The girl was silent for several moments as she collected her thoughts.

The man waited patiently as the girl tried to gather her thoughts.

"I'm fine I guess, but my stomach hurts a bit." she said as she held her stomach with a small grimace.

"Not surprising. You had several bruised organs and some minor internal bleeding. We were able to fix you up but I recommend that you take it easy for a few days." the gray-haired man said as he twisted the screw in his head a couple of times.

"What about my friends? Are they alright?" the ravenette asked worriedly.

"They're alright. Most of their injuries weren't very serious so we let them go after treating them. Well, most of them that is." he said as he pulled the curtain next to the girl's bed back revealing another bed with Karly sleeping on it.

"Karly!" she called out in shock before wincing while holding her stomach. "Is she okay?" she asked the man.

"She's fine. She just doesn't want to leave." the doctor said as he crossed his arms.

"That's good. I was worried when that guy beat her." she said with a sigh as she laid back down onto the bed.

Karly then mumbled something in her sleep and turned onto her side, facing away from the two.

Xion giggled before holding her stomach with another wince.

"Easy now. You might pop your stitches." the man said as he walked back to his chair and sat backwards on it.

"Stitches?!" she asked as she looked at the doctor in shock. She then lifted up her shirt and saw that there was a small line of stitches over her stomach.

She grimaced with her face paling slightly. She flopped back down onto the bed with a sigh being mindful of her stitches.

"What time is it?" Xion asked as she stared up at the ceiling.

"It's around noon. Classes are closed while the faculty calculates the scores. So when you're feeling better you can head home." the man said looking at the clock up on the wall.

"Okay. Is it alright for me to take a nap for a while? I'm feeling a little tired." the girl said yawning a little.

"Go right ahead. You need to get your rest anyways." he said with a nod. "Just be sure to have someone help you get home if you don't think that you can get back on your own."

Xion nodded and the doctor rolled back to his desk on his chair.

The ravenette rolled onto her side and drifted off to sleep.

**End Theme**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Some Time Later<span>**

Many hours have passed and the sun now hung low in the sky, casting the room in an orange glow.

The bed where Karly had slept was now empty since the girl had woken up earlier and left.

When the doctor asked if she could help Xion get back home the brunette replied that she didn't know where her friend lived.

With that the stitched-up man sighed and let the girl leave after saying that he would bring the girl back to her home after he finished his work.

So now the man was sitting at his desk working on some papers.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door and the silver-haired doctor looked up from his desk at the door.

"Who is it?" he asked the person behind the door.

"It's me." a male voice said from behind the door.

"Come in." the doctor said leaning back onto his chair.

The door opened and the shadowed form of the headmaster walked into the room.

"Good afternoon Stein." the headmaster said cordially.

"What can I do for you?" the now named Stein asked as he leaned his elbows on the desk and steepled his hands in front of his face.

"Do you have what I asked for?" the shadowed man asked with his hands behind his back.

"Yes. I have them right here." the doctor said as he pulled out several manila folders and placed them onto the desk. "You know... I was a little curious as to why you wanted me to do a scan of the wavelengths of these specific students. But now I think I understand what you were looking for." he said as he spread the folders across the desk revealing nine in total.

The headmaster picked up a file and began to flip through it.

"I had discovered that there something different in their wavelengths." the silver-haired man said leaning back on his chair.

"Different?" the headmaster asked curiously.

"There seems to be something more to them. A sort of untapped power that is unlike anything I've ever seen. They all hold a lot of potential... Especially these six." Stein said as he opened four folders and pushed them forward.

The photos attached to each folder were of Sora, Roxas, Karly, Xion, Terra, and Shin.

"These six are a lot more powerful than we first believed. In fact I'm pretty sure that even they are unaware of how much power they got locked up in them." said the doctor.

"Interesting." the headmaster said in thought.

"But this one right here is special." Stein said as he pointed at Xion's picture. "There was something about her wavelength that felt a little... off. I can't place it, but it feels as if there's more to this girl than meets the eye." he said with a small frown.

The headmaster picked up Xion's file and read through it. When he finished he bore a small frown beneath his shadowed features. "What do you suggest we do Stein?" he asked as he placed the file down.

"I think we should keep an eye on these kids for a while. If these latent powers awaken soon then we'll need to be prepared. Although it's a small chance, it's possible that this kind of power could corrupt them." he said as he pushed up his glasses. "We will probably have to keep an especially close eye on Xion as well. Something about her doesn't sit right with me." he said as he looked at the aforementioned ravenette still sleeping on the bed.

Both the headmaster and Stein stared at the ravenette, wondering how she would affect future events.

**End of Chapter Eight**

* * *

><p><span>Titano Man<span>: Finally! This took a lot longer than I had originally planned! But now I can proudly say that the test arc has now officially come to a close. I bet you guys didn't expect them to lose now did you? Well, look at it this way. The hero can't win every battle otherwise things would get boring pretty quick. Damon's role in this story will be that of the bad ass rival that will push our heroes to get stronger. Anyways, now that I finally have this out of the way I can focus on updating Dark Destiny. It's that story's anniversary month after all. Oh before I forget! Check out my awesome new outfit!

Titano Man now wore a black tee shirt with an image of Deadpool dressed in Link's outfit holding the Kingdom Key Keyblade up in the air in one hand, holding an annoyed looking Samus Aran in the other and having both Peach and Zelda lying at his feet. Above the image written in bold, red, letters was "Adventure Time with Deadpool". He had a pair of black jeans on with a SOLDIER belt wrapped around his waist, a pair of black steel toed combat boots on his feet and a pair of fingerless, black gloves. Over all this he wore the coat of Organization XIII with a glowing broadsword strapped to his back. The hood was pulled up to hide his eyes from view.

Titano Man: Awesome right? I can totally imagine myself busting faces with this on. So to all of the trolls out there who want to cause trouble well. I say BRING IT ON!

Suddenly Titano Man's little sister appeared next to him.

Little Sis: Mind telling me why you made Karly get her ass kicked by some idiot?

Titano Man: Don't sneak up on me like that! Anyways, if I made Karly win _every_ fight she's in then people will stop caring about her. People like an underdog after all.

Little Sis: Fine. But this better not happen too often or else you'll be sorry!

Titano Man's little sister suddenly vanishes without a trace.

Titano Man: What could she possibly do to me that I haven't already endured? Eh, it's best not to find out. Now please leave plenty of reviews and tell me what you thought of my double update? Hurry now; reviews give me the strength I need to keep writing!

**Hades****: Hey Titano Man, I was wondering if-**

Titano Man: GO HOME HADES!

**Hades****: Fine! I know when I'm not wanted.**

Hades leaves back to the underworld via interdimensional portal.

Titano Man: Now, roll the teaser for the next chapter!

Teaser:

Bartz: Congrats! Today you're all parents!

Shin: So... What kind of things are you interested in?

Karly: What the hell's going on?

Terra: It's adorable!

**Narrator****: Next time, Adventures in Parenthood!**

Damon: See you next time everybody! And stay awesome.

Titano Man: Are you kidding me?!


	9. Adventures in Parenthood!

Titano Man: Hey there internet! It's Titano Man XIII and I am really excited to get this chapter started!

Terra: I'm pretty excited for this chapter too!

Titano Man: How'd you get in here?

Terra: The door was open.

Titano Man: Oh. Who left the door open?!

Everyone shrugs.

Titano Man: *sighs* Fine. Let's just get this started. This chapter will be much more light hearted and a little less serious than the last few chapters. It will mostly focus on character interactions and growth. So with that roll the disclaimer!

Terra: Titano Man XIII does not own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, or Final Fantasy in general, Pokémon, or anything else that he decides to put into this story. The only this he does own are all of the OCs that appear in this story with the exception of Shinryu Verus, who belongs to The Unknowing Herald.

Titano Man: On with the show!

* * *

><p><strong>Final Kingdom Arc 1 Kingdom Hearts Academy<strong>

**Play awesome anime opening!**

The scene opens to show a bird's eye view of Radiant Garden. It was morning and the people of the city were waking up and starting their morning routines.

**Narrator****: It has been a week since the school wide three part exam had taken place and the student body has finally recovered from the event, though not without some loss. Despite there being no casualties, twenty percent of the student body transferred to other schools. Fifteen percent opted to be homeschooled and another ten percent dropped out entirely for various reasons. In the end roughly forty five percent of the student body left the school.**

The scene then shifted to the apartment above a small café where Xion lived.

**Narrator****: Since then our protagonists have been attempting to keep up with their studies while they recovered from the exam.**

The alarm on Xion's nightstand began to ring, calling her out of her sleep.

With a groan she turned off the alarm and sat up on her bed.

She held her arms above her head and stretched her tired muscles only to recoil an hold her stomach in discomfort.

She was still recovering from the injuries she had received from Damon during the fierce battle at the end of the third part of the exam. Even though she had mostly healed from her wounds, she still felt some residual pain and soreness from her abdomen.

The ravenette recovered from her short bout of pain and stood up. She made her way to her clothes drawers and rifled through them to find a suitable outfit since the one she wore before had been ruined during the battle with Damon.

The girl eventually found something to wear and got dressed.

Xion now wore a zip-up black vest with a silver Thalasa shell attached to the zipper over a white wifebeater tank top. Above that she wore a white jacket with short, black sleeves, and a blue collar. She wore a mid-thigh-length black skirt with black shorts underneath and a pair of shin-length black and white boots.

The girl looked at herself in the mirror and felt that something was missing. She looked to her drawers and saw a pair of black, fingerless gloves sitting on top.

With a shrug, the ravenette slipped the gloves and looked at herself in the mirror. She gave herself a nod of approval and went to gather her things.

She left her apartment and made a quick stop at the café she lived over to grab a quick breakfast before running off to get to school on time.

The scene then froze and the name of he episode appeared on screen.

**Adventures in Parenthood!**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Meanwhile elsewhere...<span>**

Karly was slowly making her way towards school.

Walking next to her was her partner Digimon, Titanomon.

The duo were getting the attention of the townspeople they were passing by, not just because of the velociraptor-sized cromson and bronze dinosaur walking down the street looking at everything with interest, but also the look on the girl's face.

She had a somber expression on her face as she walked down the street.

At the moment the brunette had changed her attire into something a little plainer than from what she normally wore. She wore a simple long-sleeved white blouse and a dark green skirt with black leggings and dark green boots.

She wasn't paying attention to anything around her since she was currently lost in thought... A rare sight given her personality.

**Flashblack!**

* * *

><p><em>"I am going to kick your ass!" Karly said as she rush in, sword ready to cut the boy in two.<em>

_Damon swung his blade one handedly clashing with the girl's every strike with ease._

_They kept clashing blades until they ended up in a bladelock._

_Both put all of their strength into the struggle, their weapons gradually glowing red and releasing sparks from the pressure put on them._

_The brunette glared at the boy while he just smirked._

_Then, with the flick of the wrist, Damon ended the bladelock and sent Karly's sword flying into the air._

_The girl's allies gasped in shock as they saw they blade fly away._

_'No way...!' Karly thought in disbelief as the blade left her grasp._

_Damon smirked at his opening. "Bye!" he said as he made his move._

_Within the blink of an eye the boy appeared behind Karly with his sword out to the side._

_"Wha...?" the brunette said in confusion as she looked down and didn't see a wound._

_"You lose!" the black-haired boy said shouldering his blade._

_As soon as he said that a massive torrent of blood gushed out of Karly's torso from two mirroring diagonal slashes forming an X over her chest and one horizontal slash across her stomach._

_The girl coughed up blood and fell to her knees. She looked down at her wounds in disbelief. "I... Lost...?" she said just before her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she fell face first to the floor._

**Flashback End**

* * *

><p>Karly clenched her fist in frustration. She had never been so thoroughly defeated like that before. She had never lost like that before. These thoughts and the memories of the battle have plagued her mind constantly since the battle. It had gotten to the point that she had begun losing sleep at night.<p>

'_I still can hardly believe it! He outclassed me in everyway! He never took me seriously for even a second! Even with the others backing me up, I still lost! And I even have the scars to prove it._" she thought as she placed a hand over the X-shaped scar going over her chest under the blouse. '_Damon Chaos... The next time we fight... I' m going to beat you!_' she thought resolutely.

She then looked up and saw a nearby bank clock read 6:45 AM.

The girl's eyes widened in surprise.

"Crap, I'm gonna be late!" she said and both she and her partner hightailed it towards their destination.

She was so caught up in getting to school on time that she didn't notice the figure draped in a hooded white coat watching her from a nearby rooftop.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Later that day!<span>**

It was the afternoon now and a relatively boring schoolday had just ended, leaving the remaining student body free to do as they pleased.

We shift our gaze to Kingdom Hearts Academy where, at the moment, the students were either walking home or to their after school clubs.

Several days ago the teachers of each class asked their students to pick an extracurricular activity or club to join after school. This was, of course, a mandatory rule where the students must pick a club or activity that will teach them valuable skills for them to use later in their lives.

In fact, it is because of this reason that we find our favorite emerald-haired spellcaster, Terra Branford walking through the hallways searching for the classroom where the club that she joined will be held.

"Hm, it has to be around here somewhere." she said as she looked for the room number along hallway she was walking down.

After a few more minutes of walking around she found the room she was looking for.

"Ah, here it is!" the girl said excitedly before she opened the door.

**Play Final Fantasy VIII OST- Breezy**

The room looked like any other classroom in the school with most of the basic necessities that a classroom needs. What set it apart though were the dozens of posters of various animals and monsters known to inhabit the worlds.

You see, this is a sort of animal lovers club where the students that signed up learn how to identify various types of creatures, learn their habits and habitats, how to defend against them, and, if necessary, treat them if wounded.

Being an animal lover herself, Terra naturally wanted to join the club so she could expand her knowledge of the various fauna around the known worlds.

The emerald-haired girl walked to one of the empty seats in the middle of the room and sat down.

She waited for a few minutes for the club president to arrive and start today's meeting when she noticed someone sit in the open seat next to her.

The Mage turned her head to look at the person and was quite honestly perplexed by her appearance.

The person sitting next to her looked to be a young woman around the age of sixteen with a lightly tanned skin tone, an admitably cute face, a nice, relatively shapely figure with a larger than average but not huge bust, and long, soft looking, slender legs. Her bright red hair was tied in curled pigtails though in the lighting it looked like her hair was an odd mix of orange and pink. She had bright green eyes that showed cheerfulness, and pierced ears with silver hoop earrings. She wore a light pink halter top that bared her midriff, an orange and yellow skirt that reached the middle of her thighs, and mid-shin-length beige boots. She wore a fur pelt around her waist, which had a holster that appeared to be used for carrying her weapon attached to it. She wore numerous bracelets, three beaded necklaces, and an assortment of beads and ornaments attached to various parts of her clothing.

The girl looked completely foreign to Terra. She had never seen clothing of that style before, but she got a tribal sort of feel off of it.

The redhead noticed the Mage staring at her and turned to address the emerald-haired girl.

"Uh, hi there!" the girl said with a grin and a wave. Her voice had a noticeable accent to it.

Terra was jolted out of examining the older girl's outfit further and blushed in embarassment.

"H-hi..." the girl said as her inherent shyness took over. She inwardly cursed that her shyness came back again. She had been trying for ages to beat this particular quirk of hers, with limited success.

"You know, you were staring at me for a couple of minutes there. Any particular reason why?" the tribal looking girl asked sounding more curious than mad or annoyed.

"Sorry. It's just that I've never seen someone like you before really. Your clothes are a little odd given where we are." the Mage said a little awkwardly.

"Oh, well these clothes are common in my tribe on Gran Pulse. I guess they do kind of stand out in a place like this." the now revealed Gran Pulsian said sheepishly as she looked at the various casual clothing and dresses the rest of the girls in the room all wore. "But then again your clothes kinda stand out too." the girl said with a small giggle.

Terra looked down at her own floral print red dress, pink cape, leggings, and boots and had to admit that it, along with her vibrant green hair, made her stand out quite a bit in a crowd.

"True." the girl said in agreement and let out a small giggle. "So you're from Gran Pulse?" she asked curiously.

"Yep! I love it there, but my big sister sent me here so I could get a proper education and be able to get my dream job." the redhead said happily.

"Oh, what's your dream job?" asked Terra.

"I wanna be a doctor." said the older girl.

"Really? I don't mean to be rude or anything, but why are you in this club?" the emerald- haired girl asked curiously.

"Oops, I forgot to mention that I also wanted to double as a vet so I could help treat the animals the people back at my village keep." said the Pulsian.

"Oh." the Mage said with a nod. "Well my name's Terra Branford. What's yours?" she asked politely.

"My names Vanille. Nice to meet you Terra!" the now named Vanille said with a grin as she extended her hand out to the girl.

"Nice to meet you too Vanille!" Terra said with a grin of her own and shook the older girl's hand.

"Making a new friend?" a male voice asked from behind the two.

Terra turned her head and saw none other than Shin standing right behind her and Vanille.

"Oh, it's you Shin! How have you been?" she asked with a smile on her face.

"I've been alright. And you?" the brunet asked politely.

"I'm well, thank you." the Mage said politely. "So why did you join this club?" she asked with curiosity evident on her features.

"Well I picked this club because I thought it was interesting... That and I'm likely not to get bored here." he said as he scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

Terra couldn't help but giggle.

"Hey, why don't you grab a seat and join us?" Vanille asked in a friendly manner.

"Sure." Shin said with a shrug and grabbed the seat directly behind Terra.

"So what kind of animal do you like Shin? I like the sheep that you find roaming about on Gran Pulse. They're just so cute and fluffy! They're so adorable!" the redhead gushed as she thought about the adorable little animals of her home world.

"Well I've kinda always liked Chocobo. They're pretty cool." said the boy.

"I like Chocobos too. But Moogles are definitely my favorites." said Terra.

"Do Moogles even count as animals?" the Pulsian girl asked questioningly.

"I don't know?" Shin asked as he crossed his arms in thought. He genuinely didn't know the answer. They have been a part of society for a very long time.

"Anyways, Chocobo are pretty cute, but I could definitely live without the smell!" Vanille said as she pretended to fan away a foul stench.

"You get used to it." Both Terra and Shin said at the same time.

The two looked at each other and started chuckling/giggling, respectively.

The trio spent the next few minutes having small talk waiting for the club meeting to officially start. Durring their conversation the Fletchling from the Castle Gardens that Terra had befriended flew through the window and landed atop her head, causing her some embarassment with her friends and fellow club mates.

Just then the door opened and the club leader entered the room. It was nonother than Bartz Klauser!

**Play Final Fantasy V OST- Mambo de Chocobo**

Bartz looked pretty much the same as he did during the exam but his attire was different. His hair was styled differently than it was before and he wore a blue tunic with white sleeves and a white collar, beige pants, and shin-length green boots.

"Hey everybody! Glad to see you all showed up!" The brunet said with a friendly grin.

"It's Bartz!" Terra said looking pleasantly surprised.

"You know him?" Vanille asked curiously.

The Mage nodded. "We met him not too long ago during the exam." She said to the Pulsian before she looked back to the front of the room.

"Welcome to the first day of the ethology club! I'm sure you already know this, but this club is dedicated to the study and care of animals. If you want to go into a career involving animals or this is just a hobby that you're passionate about, well then this is the club for you!" he said excitedly. "Now let's get things started with our first project!" he said as he gestured to the door.

The door then opened and a young woman around the age of sixteen with, fair skin, short, banged pink hair, and bright, green eyes walked in, pushing a cart into the room. She wore a belted, loose-fitting orange traveling dress, and a pair of short, white shoes.

The cart had a white tarp on it, hiding whatever it held from view.

"Thanks Lenna." Bartz said with a smile as he looked at the rosette.

"No problem Bartz." the now named Lenna said with a smile of her own.

Lenna then moved the cart to the front of the room and stood next to Bartz.

"Alright, for our first club project we have to take care of these!" The brunet said as he grabbed the tarp on the cart and pulled it back to reveal several dozen...

"Eggs?" Vanille asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"Not just any eggs. These little babies are Chocobo eggs." the wanderer said as he gestured to the eggs. "We got permission from the Chocobo ranch in town to take care of these eggs for a couple of weeks. Since we gotta return them to the ranch intact, I feel that I have to tell you all to be really careful with these eggs since their pretty fragile." he said seriously before perking right back up. "Now with that out of the way, let's start assigning teams!" he said with a grin.

"We're going to have partners for this project?" Terra asked curiously.

"That's right." Lenna said with a nod. "We'll be pairing two people up for each egg. It'll be your job to take care of your egg and keep it from getting broken or damaged in any way. If your egg breaks then you and your partner fail." she said with a shrug. "So in a sense, you'll all be acting as parents for these eggs!" she said with a smile.

"Alright, when I call the names of you and your partner, please come up and get your egg." Bartz said and started reading off the names on the roster.

After a couple of minutes everyone was paired with a partner and given an egg.

By chance, Terra and Shin were paired together for the project and handed an egg.

"Remember, don't let anything happen to these eggs otherwise you'll fail. With that said, welcome to parenthood!" Bartz said with a grin.

With that the club meeting came to a close.

**End Theme**

* * *

><p><strong><span>The next day- Lunchtime<span>**

**Play Final Fantasy VII OST- Dear to the Heart/Holding My Thoughts In My Heart**

We now find ourselves in Radiant Garden's Castle Gardens where we see Terra eating lunch with the resident Pokémon playing around her. She had the Chocobo eggs held in a clothe sling that she had wrapped around her torso while Shaymin sat on her lap and Fletchling sat on her right shoulder.

Joining her were nonother than Xion, who was eating from a bento box she had packed for herself earlier that day, and Shin, who was eating a sandwich while a couple of Sewaddle, a Caterpie, a Ralts, and a Poochyena looked at the young man curiously.

Not far away a Leavanny, a Mightyena, and a Gardevoir were watching over the scene. They were likely the parents of the Sewaddle, the Poochyena, and the Raltz that were hanging around Shin.

The three were taking about nothing of real importance.

"So you two have to take care of that egg for the rest of the week?" the ravenette asked curiously as she ate from her bento.

Shin nodded in confirmation. "The club prez said that this skill might help us in the future." he said with a shrug.

"This is usually something they pull in one of those home economics classes." Xion said as she looked at the egg.

"Well on the plus side this will give us an edge when they do it in that class, right Shin?" she asked with a giggle as she gave the boy a wink.

"Uh, right!" the brunet said as his cheeks gained a light pink tinge to them.

"I wonder what type of Chocobo it'll be?" the emerald-haired girl asked as she gently rubbed the shell of the egg.

"How many types of Chocobo are there, anyways?" Xion asked in astonishment.

"There are a lot really." Shin said with a shrug.

"Well can you name a few?" Asked the racenette.

"Well there are several different species of Chocobo, and you can identify them by the color of their feathers. The colors can range from yellow to red, blue, green, purple, orange, brown, black, and even pink!" he said as he crossed his arms in thought. "Then there is the trifecta of superior breeds, such as the golds, the silvers, or the whites. These three species are the rarest and hardest to breed. So you have to be really determined if you want to get one of them. he said before he noticed the Ralts trying to swipe one of his sandwiches.

The boy smiled at the small Pokémon and gave half of his sandwich to the little creature.

The Feeling Pokémon gave a happy cry and took the sandwich.

Shin chuckled and rubbed the young Pokémon's head as it stuffed its mouth.

"I didn't know that White Chocobos were so rare. Why is that?" Terra asked as she looked at the brunet.

"Well have you ever heard of the White Star Chocobo?" he asked as he looked at the Mage.

Both girls nodded in affirmation.

"They're the same species as the Trickster Chocobo on Ivilice, right?" asked Terra.

"Right." Shin said with a nod. "White Chocobo are extremely hard to find in nature and are even harder to breed. Because of these conditions and all of the abilities they have make them very one of the best breeds." he said as he finished his sandwich.

"I think I've read something like that once." Xion said as she looked through her memories to see where she read the information before.

"What did it say?" Terra asked curiously.

"Let's see. This species stands at least fifty percent higher than the average yellow chocobo, the most common breed, and its plumage is as white as snow for most of the body, except for the very end of its wings, tail and head feathers, which turn into a golden hue. This species is known for it's light refracting feathers that may either cause it to be near invisible in a snowy climate such as a snowstorm or shine under the light of the sun and moon, which explains that outside of its more common name of White Chocobo, it's called The White Star. White Star Chocobos are one of the trifecta of "superior breeds" joining Golds and Silvers. While they are argued to be the superior ones, they aren't without flaws. While the fastest in flight by a metric ton, Golds are slightly faster on land and Silvers are slightly more resilient. In the end, what stops White Star Chocobos from being the norm is not their slight misteps but the fact that they are born of a regressive gene, which means they are to Golds what Golds are to Yellows. One in a million." the girl said sounding as if she read it straight from a book. "So in short, White Chocobo have all the abilities of other Chocobo species with the only drawback being that they're extremely rare." she said with a shrug.

"You basically repeated what I said just more..." Shin said before the girl cut in.

"Detailed?" she asked while tilting her head to the side.

"I was going to say wordy, but that works too." the boy said with a shrug.

The trio then spent the next few minutes chatting about nothing in particular until a sudden thought hit Xion's mind.

"Have either of you noticed how Karly's been acting lately?" the ravenette asked with a small amount of concern in her tone.

"I haven't really seen your friend since the exam, so no." Terra said with a shrug.

"I only saw her once since the exam, but I noticed it." Shin said as he crossed his arms.

"She seems to be a lot more irritable than normal, and she doesn't talk as much as she usually does. It's like her personality did a complete one-eighty." Xion said with a small frown. "And I'm not the only one either, the others noticed it too, and I think they're starting to worry as well." she said as she looked down at her now empty bento box.

"Granted that I don't know your friend all that well, but that doesn't really sound like her from what I've seen." Terra said with some concern lacing her voice as well.

"She didn't act this way before we fought that guy, the head of the disciplinary committee." Xion said in thought as she looked back at what could have possibly caused the sudden change in Karly's behavior.

"Do you think that fight had something to do with it?" the emerald-haired girl asked in concern.

"We all got our asses handed to us in that fight. It's likely that her loss hit her hard." said Shin.

"That might be it. From what I've seen from her personality, Karly doesn't like losing very much." Xion said with a frown.

"Maybe she'll get over it and will be back to her normal self in no time?" Terra said with a shrug.

"Maybe..." the ravenette replied, not entirely sure herself.

**End Theme**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Many Days later!<span>**

**Play Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep OST- Radiant Garden**

It was a nice Thursday afternoon and the sky was clear of any clouds.

It is on this nice day that we find Terra, Xion, and Shin walking through the Marketplace simply hanging out and enjoying each other's company as they looked through the local flea market.

For the last two weeks, Terra and Shin had done a good job taking care of the Chocobo egg they had been assigned. Their relationship had grown quite a bit and could now be considered very good friends.

Shin had also gotten along well with Xion and they had an established friendship as well.

At the moment the trio were looking at the many odd little knickknacks that were for sale.

"Ooh, this is cute!" Xion said as she picked up a small bracelet with a cute seashell charm on it.

"Nice! What about this one?" Terra asked as she held up a bracelet with a cute little Moogle charm on it.

"Oh, that will look _so_ cute on you!" the ravenette said with a small squeal as she looked at the charm her friend had.

Nearby Shin was watching the two while sipping from a can of soda. While he may greatly enjoy their company there are times when he felt like the odd one out whenever the two start acting, well like girls. He adjusted the sling that held the Chocobo egg that he and Terra were tasked with taking care of and looked over the many stalls where their peddlers were selling their merchandise.

He walked to a nearby stand that had a large array of phone cases and accessories. While he was looking over the small interest a person garbed in a long, white coat with a hood hiding their face from view came up to the stall and stood at the table next to him. The only telltale feature about the person was a slender figure, suggesting that the person might have been female.

The hooded person looked over the knickknacks and picked up a small cat charm that could be tied onto a phone. It was dark blue in color and looked quite cute.

The figure put down the charm and began to look around the stall.

Both the figure and Shin were too busy looking over the merchandise as they walked around and bumped right into each other.

"Sorry about that. I should have been watching where I was going." the boy said sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head.

The hooded person simply shook their head and waved it off before turning around and walking away.

"Okay...?" he said as he arched a brow at the person's behavior.

"Shin! Let's go see what else is being sold here." Terra said as she and Xion walked up to the brunet.

"Did you find anything you like?" asked Xion.

"Not really. Did you two buy those bracelets that you were looking at?" he asked casually.

"Nah, we didn't really want to waste the Munny." the ravenette said with a shrug.

"Okay." he said with a nod.

**End Theme**

Terra looked towards where the egg was on the sling only for her eyes widen in shock and her face to pale several shades.

"S-Shin..." she said shakily.

"Yeah?" he asked slightly worried about the sudden change in the emerald-haired girl's demeanor.

"Where's the egg?" she asked fearfully.

Xion looked to where the egg was and her jaw dropped in shock.

"What are you talking about?" Shin asked with an arched brow. "It's right here." he said as he placed a hand over where the egg was, only to feal that nothing was there. "Huh?!" he cried out in shock as he looked down to see that the Chocobo egg was gone! "What?! But how?! I had it right here the whole time! Where could it have...?" he asked before his eyes widened in shock. "That person in the coat!" he shouted as he looked in the direction the hooded person went.

The camera then zoomed through the bustling crowd and stopped at the cloaked person with a feminine figure as they, or she for the sake of understanding, walked down the coblestone path with a slight sway to her hips.

She then reached into her pocket and pulled out the small dark blue cat charm that she had picked up at the stand earlier and admired it for a few moments before placing it back in her pocket.

She then reached into her coat and pulled out the Chocobo egg.

'_I wonder how much this could fetch me?_' she thought while smirking underneath the shadow of her hood.

The hooded individual suddenly stopped when she heard a voice call out over the rabble.

"Stop theif!" Shin shouted as he, Terra, and Xion chased after the girl in the white coat.

**Play Team Fortress 2 OST- Intruder Alert**

'_Looks like they realized it sooner than I thought. I guess that means it's time for me to go._' She thought as she placed the egg back in her coat.

The white garbed person then ran through the crowd with the intention of losing her pursuers.

"Hey, get back here!" Xion shouted as the trio chased after the theif.

The hooded theif easily bobbed and weaved through the crowd while the trio struggled to push through it. The trio were soon able to make it through the crowds and began to begin the chase in earnest.

The theif grinned under the shadow of her hood as a feeling of excitement at the prospect of being chased swelled through her. She looked forward and saw a small ledge that led to the upper part of the marketplace with the staircase leading up to it to the left side. But instead of simply climbing up the stairs like a normal person, she instead started doing a series of front flips and used her momentum from that to vault over the wall using her hands as springs.

The hooded girl landed on her feet and continued to run.

Terra, Xion, and Shin quickly climbed the stairs and continued the chase.

The theif looked back and giggled at their persistence. She turned her attention towards the front of her and she saw several anthropamorphic animals. She saw a female fox dressed like a cop, a male raccoon in a blue outfit with a large hooked cane, a male turtle with huge glasses and a pith helmet in an automated wheelchair, a male hefty looking pink hippo, and an old duck that looked fairly wealthy who was eating a stick of seasalt ice cream.

The girl smirked and picked up speed. She reached the turtle in the wheelchair first and grabbed the handles. She spun the chair to face Terra, Xion, and Shin and cut the breakline before she pushed the chair at them. She then pushed past the fox, the raccoon, and the duck towards the stairs.

She then turned around briefly to show that she had stolen the fox and raccoon's wallets and the duck's icecream. She quickly took the money from the wallets and tossed the asside carelessly and stuffed the money in her pockets. She then started eating the icecream as she began to run down the stairs.

"Hey!" the fox cried indignantly with a Latin accent.

"Ack, she stole my icecream!" the duck cried out in a Scottish accent.

"Whoa!" the turtle cried as his chair was sent wheeling towards the trio.

Terra reacted quickly and grabbed the chair before the turtle could crash into anything.

"Thanks." the turtle said in relief.

The girl nodded and pushed the chair back to the group of animals before resuming the chase with her friends.

The theif ran down the long flight of stairs that led to the Burough where most of the city's residents lived.

She ran through the back streets and alley-ways easily avoiding the many people who walked through them.

Terra, Xion, and Shin followed after the hooded theif as they bobbed and weaved through the back streets as well.

"Stop, theif!" Shin shouted as he picked up the pace.

"You have something that doesn't belong to you!" Xion shouted as she kept her sights on the white garbed figure.

The theif finished eating the icecream and looked up to see a flower pot sitting on a windowsill above. With great accuracy she threw the popsicle stick up at the pot and knocked it off its perch.

Shin noticed the pot falling and stopped in time to avoid being hit in the head by it.

The theif then jumped up along the wall and grabbed a clothesline that hung above them.

She grabed a large quilt and threw it at the trio before she fell back to the ground and began to flee once more.

While Terra and Shin were able to avoid it in time Xion wasn't and she became tangled up inside it before falling to the ground.

"Xion!" Terra said in alarm.

"I'm fine, just keep going! You don't want to lose her!" the ravenette said as she was able to free her head from the quilt.

The duo glanced at each other before they nodded to their friend and resumed the chase.

The chase continued for several minutes as the duo and the theif ran through several back streets and alley-ways. The theif tried to avoid them several times by flipping over fences, sliding under objects, through holes, and between people's legs, and by doing some parkour.

By this point Terra and Shin were jumping across rooftops after the surprisingly agile theif.

"Stop!" Terra shouted as she pointed her hand at the theif and sent a blizzard spell in her direction.

The hooded girl simply jumped over the spell with a flip and the block of ice hit the roof, covering it in a thin layer of ice.

The thief landed on the roof, right foot first only to imediately start sliding across the rest of the roof. She looked down and saw that the entire roof was frozen over and that she had no way to stop herself.

'_Oh, crap!_' she thought as she flailed her arms in an attempt to stop herself. Unfortunately for the pilferer, she ran out of roof and fell to the ground below.

"Yes, we got her now!" Terra said excitedly mere moments before she and Shin stepped onto the ice and slipped, sliding across the rest of the roof. In their excitement the two had forgoten that the Mage had frozen the roof and were now en route towards the edge.

**End Theme**

The theif fell to the ground and was able to gracefully land on her feet. She looked around to see that she was in the Castle Town area and that not many people were around. She giggled to herself in victory and clapped the invisible dust off of her hands. She then pulled out the Chocobo egg and gazed at it for a moment before she began to walk forward.

Unfortunately for her, she didn't make it very far because Terra and Shin fell from the roof and crashed into her, causing the furritus to face plant onto the ground with her hands holding the egg in front of her, completely unscathed. The only indication that she was somewhat alright was the subtle twitching of her left foot.

"Wow, that landing was softer than I thought." Terra said as she sat up.

"That's 'cause you landed on me!" Shin said with a groan.

The emerald-haired girl looked down and saw that she was sitting on the boy's back, who was lying horizontally across the theif's back.

"Oops!" the girl squeaked as she stood up off of her friend.

The brunet stood up with a groan and popped the joints in his back.

"S-sorry..." Terra said as she looked down in shame and poking her index fingers together.

"It's okay. You weren't very heavy at all." he said with a small grin and waved it off.

Terra couldn't help but blush a little from the compliment.

A pained, feminine groan was heard coming from the ground between them and they looked down to see that the theif was still lying on the ground.

Terra looked at the theif's hands and saw that the egg was intact.

"Oh thank goodness! The egg's alright!" she said in relief as she liberated the stolen property from the theif's grasp. She examined it and sighed in relief when she saw that there was no damage.

"That's good. I don't know what we would do if it got damaged or broke." Shin said in relief.

"Yeah, that would be really bad!" the girl said with a small giggle as she held the egg close to her ample bust. As if the universe wanted to get a cheap laugh, a large crack appeared on the egg.

Terra and Shin's eyes widen and their jaws hang in shock as their faces pale considerably.

"Oh no, it cracked!" the Mage said in panic. "What do we do, what do we do?!" she asked worriedly.

"Here, let me see." Shin said as he motioned for the girl to bring him the egg.

Terra walked to the boy, unintentionally stepping on the theif's back with her heeled boots.

The hooded thief groaned loudly in pain as she felt the long heels of the girl's boots dig into her back.

"S-sorry!" the Mage said to the thief before she stopped I front of Shin.

Shin took a look at the egg in his firend's hands and saw that the crack stretched across nearly halfway over the egg.

Suddenly another crack appeared on the egg.

"Oh that's not good." he said with a frown.

Just then the egg began to shake as more cracks began to appear on the shell. (Feel free to play the Pokémon evolution theme here)

"It's shaking!" Terra said in shock as she felt the egg shake in her hands.

"Does that mean it's hatching?" Shin asked in surprise. He did not expect the egg they were tasked with taking care of to hatch at all.

The egg kept shaking and cracking until a small beak broke out through the top.

After a few more moments the top of the egg finally broke away and the head of a small Chocobo chick poked out.

Terra and Shin's eyes widened in awe as the small chick chirped a couple of times.

Amazingly enough, the small Chocobo chick was already well developed as it already had its feathers on it.

"Is that...?" Shin started in awe as he looked at the color of the bird's plumage.

"A White Chocobo...?" Terra finished in an equal amount of awe.

The little chick looked up at Terra and Shin and gave a happy 'Kweh!' as its avian instincts made it imprint on the two.

Slowly a small grin formed on Terra's face before it morphed into a happy, beaming smile.

"So, do you think this will give us extra credit?" she asked with a giggle as she looked at the boy.

The two of them then started laughing at the exciting day they had as the little chick flew around and between them.

But unbeknownst to the duo, the thief that they landed on was no longer there.

* * *

><p><strong><span>The next day!<span>**

**Play Final Fantasy XIII OST- Cocoon de Chocobo**

It was Friday and the schoolday had just ended. Not only that, but the project that Terra and Shin had been assigned was due that day.

The two of them were in their ecology club and at the moment the two of them were the center of attention for one fairly small-sized reason.

"Kweh!"

Their White Chocobo Chick.

The little bird flitted about the room happily as the rest of the students looked on in awe.

True to its name light was refracting off of its small feathers, making it glow brightly.

"Aw, it's _so_ cute! I wish my egg hatched too!" Vanille said with a squeal as the chick landed on Terra's desk and looked up at the girl.

"It was definitely a surprise to say the least. But I'm glad it happened. Having her around has been great." the Mage said as she pet the chicks head with her finger.

"Does she have a name?" the Pulsian asked as she leaned over to get a better look at the Chocobo.

"Shin and I decided on naming her Stardust." the Mage said as she picked the bird up in her hands.

"Oh, that's so cute!" said the redhead.

Just then the door opened and the Bartz walked into the room followed by Lenna.

"Hey guys, how's it going?" the wanderer asked in a friendly tone. "It's time to hand in your projects. So when I call up your teams, please hand in your egg." he said as he pulled out the club roster.

One by one each team was called up and they handed in their eggs. Eventually Terra and Shin were called up.

The two walked up to the brunet and stood before him. Terra had her hands behind her back and had a small smile on her face.

"So where's your egg?" the wanderer asked curiously.

The emerald-haired Mage giggled and moved her hands out from behind her back and held them out in front of her.

There was a small Kweh sound and Bartz looked down at the girl's hands and his eyes widened in shock at the site.

Without warning, Bartz fell back and hit the floor hard, apparently fainting.

Lenna then picked him back up and stood him upright where he immediately regained consciousness.

"Is that a..." he asked in disbelief as he pointed at the Chocobo Chick.

"A White Star Chocobo? Yes, yes it is." Shin said with a small grin.

"That's awesome! I've never seen one up close before!" the wanderer said excitedly. "How'd this happen?" he asked curiously.

"Well..." Terra said as she and Shin looked at each other.

The two then went to explain the events that transpired the day before. From the thief steeling the egg and the subsequent chase across town, to the egg hatching right in front of them.

"Well if that don't beat all?" Bartz said as he scratched the back of his head. "If that's the case then it looks like you two will have to raise her." he said as he put his hands on his hips.

"What do you mean?" asked the Mage.

"When a chick hatches from its egg, it imprints on the first thing it sees. So that means that you two are basically this chick's parents." the wanderer said as he scratched the little bird's head.

"Eh, but we don't know how to raise Chocobo!" Terra said in shock.

"Hey, don't worry about that! I'll give you two a hand whenever you need it." Bartz said with a grin.

Terra and Shin looked at each other for a moment before they looked back to the brunet and nodded their heads.

"We would appreciate it." Shin said with gratitude.

"Don't mention it!" the wanderer said waving it off.

Things were starting to look up.

**End Theme**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Later that night!<span>**

"What a nice night out. I love quiet nights like this." Xion said with a content sigh as she walked through the streets of Radiant Garden.

It was late at night and the ravenette had trouble sleeping. So in order to help herself get to sleep, she decided to take a short walk around the neiborhood.

So far she was enjoying herself and felt very relaxed.

"I should really do this more often." she said with a smile as she stretched her arms above her head.

She soon came upon a bench near a small park near her apartment. She decided to sit down and relax for a little while before heading back home to sleep.

After sitting in silence with her eyes closed for ten or so minutes, the ravenette stood up and stretched her limbs as she let out a yawn.

She was about to walk back towards her aparartment before she noticed something out of the corner of her eye.

She turned her head to the left and saw a figure in the distance wearing a hooded, white coat. The hood of the coat was pulled up so she couldn't see her face.

The figure walked into the nearby park towards what looked like a playground.

'_Who would go to a park at this time of night?_' she thought as she arched a brow. (People could say the same about you walking through the streets late at night for no apparent reason.)

The girl frowned, and despite her better judgement, decided to follow the suspiscious figure.

Xion entered the park and quickly hid in the bushes that were close enough to the playground that she could hear and see what was happening, but far enough that hopefully no one would notice her.

**Play Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep OST- Xehanort**

She peeked from the bushes and saw the figure walking up to three other people garbed in the same white coats as the first figure.

One of the figures was sitting on a swing set running the toe of their feminine boot through the sand. The person had a slender figure suggesting that they might be female.

Another one of the cloaked individuals was sitting on the bottom of a slide, kicking their feet back and forth. This person also had a slender figure suggesting that they might be a female as well.

'_Those two are dressed like the theif from yesterday! Do they work with her?_' Xion thought before she shifted her gaze towards the last cloaked person.

The last figure stood next to the girl sitting on the slide with their arms crossed over their chest. The person had a lithe but more masculine frame than the two girls. It was clear that this person was male. And given his size it was likely that he was around the same age as Xion.

The first figure that was walking towards the trio stopped in front of them and put their hands on their hips.

"Alright, I'm here! What do ya want?" the cloaked man asked sounding annoyed.

The man's voice sounded familiar to the Ravenette and she began to wonder where she heard it before.

"Glad to see that you finally made it Discord." the other cloaked male said in a calm, cool voice.

"Nice to see ya too, Wolf!" the first man said sarcastically while giving the one he called Wolf an inappropriate hand gesture. He glanced around to see if there wasn't anyone around. "And don't talk so loudly. You don't know whether there could be someone listening in." he said as he looked back to the other three hooded people.

Xion quickly ducked her head down to avoid being spotted.

"Oh, don't be so paranoid, Nya! Who would be out at this time of night?" the girl on the slide as she kept kicking her legs.

"Hey, you never know!" Discord said with a scowl under his hood. "Anyway, what is it?" he asked as he crossed his arms.

"The Master has an order for us. We are to observe several individuals that had caught his interest." the hooded young man said in a calm tone.

"And how do you suppose we do that?" the hooded man asked skeptically.

"Come on, it was easy for you to hack the system during that school wide exam." the girl on the swing said as she started swinging.

"She's right you know. You were able to get the three of us and the others in unnoticed with the distractions you caused during the exam." the girl on the slide said with a shrug.

"I guess that's true. Devimon and those other Digimon served their purpose in the end." the black-haired young man said with a shrug.

"Indeed. We were able to find several poeple of interest thanks to them." said the hooded boy.

'_He was the one who brought out those monsters?!_' Xion thought in shock.

"I guess that it wouldn't be that hard to keep tabs on them." Discord said with a small shrug. "So what does the boss want with them?" he asked as he put his hands into his pockets.

"Nya, the Master believes that these people could help us find _those things_." said the girl on the slide.

"Do you think that they'll honestly want to help us with _that_?" the man asked skeptically.

"They will help us. Whether they know it or not." said Wolf.

"Then it looks like everything is going according to plan." Discord mused as he crossed his arms. "I could have handled things on my own here you know." he said with a small frown.

The girl on the swing stopped swinging and stood up. "We know that. But the boss felt that you were taking too long to find the information we need." she said as she walked up to the boy with her hands clasped behind her back. "It was supposed to be a simple in and out mission, you know. And yet you were here for months." she said with a shake of her head. "Why is that?" she asked as she stopped no more than a foot in front of him and leaned in enough to look the boy in the eyes.

"It wasn't that easy!" Discord said as he backed up a little. "The security around the info we need is a lot more closely guarded than we first thought. I had to get to it through other means." he said as he put his hands on his hips.

The hooded girl straightened her posture but stayed in the same spot. "So you joined the disiplinary committee?" she asked as she tilted her head to the left.

"Hm, that's not a bad plan." the hooded boy said as he held his shadowed chin in thought. "The disiplinary committee has access to a lot of the school's more off limit parts. Given the sudden decrease of the student body in the last couple of weeks the security will be lax while the faculty tries to refill the roster." he said with a nod. It seems the opportunity to move along their plans was drawing near.

"Yeah, it took me forever to get where I am right now. And since a good number of my fellow disiplinary committee members quit too, I'm gonna need new members." Discord said with a sigh.

"I'm sure you'll find some new members soon, Nya!" the hooded girl on the slide said in a chipper tone.

"Thanks. Anyways, how's your back? Does it still hurt?" the hooded man asked with a small amount of concern in his voice. He knew the girl was tough despite her small size and could take a hit but there were times where she would be unable to do things due to a small injury or sprain.

"I'm fine. Those two were a little heavy but I was able to walk it off. Although it still have a mark from that girl's heels on my back." she said as she rubbed a spot on her back in mild discomfort.

"Well then maybe you shouldn't steal stuff from random people!" Discord scolded as he crossed his arms over his chest.

The hooded girl stuck her tongue out at the boy.

"Anyways, let's get going before we arouse any suspicion." Wolf said as he uncrossed his arms and turned towards the park's entrance. "Oh, I almost forgot to mention." the boy said stopping in his tracks. "Our reports say that _they_ are starting to make their move." he said as he turned his head towards the head of the disiplinary committee.

"Well that complicates things a bit." Discord said as he crossed his arms. "What do we do?" he asked with a frown.

"For now we'll carry on as originally ordered." said Wolf.

Xion saw this as a good opportunity to slip away unnoticed. She slowly crawled backwards without taking her eyes from the four individuals she had been spying on. She crawled back by about two feet before she bumped into something behind her. At first she thought that it was a tree that she didn't notice before, but then she realized that there weren't any trees near her. She slowly looked behind her to see a man wearing the same coat that Discord and the other three.

"Well, well... Look what I found!" he said with his hands in his pockets as he looked down at the girl. "A really cute little girl! What brings you out here at this time of night young lady? You wouldn't happen to have been spying on my friends over there, right?" he asked as he squatted down to her eye level.

Xion giggled nervously as she turned to the hooded man and slowly crawled backwards.

"Oh, now don't be like that! I'm not gonna hurt you!" he said waving his hands in front of him.

"What's going on over here?" a calm, cool voice asked from behind the girl.

Xion froze in place and her skin paled several shades. She turned her head and saw the one called Wolf standing behind her.

"Well I caught this girl spying on you guys just now." the hooded man said with a shrug.

"Is that so..." the hooded boy said as he looked down at Xion. "Then it's likely that she heard everything... We can't have that." he said as he raised his left hand into the air. Mist started to form around his hand and a block of ice began to form over his palm.

Xion spun around and attempted to crawl away from the boy only to bump into the hooded man behind her.

Suddenly a hand grabbed the boy's wrist and stopped the spell. Wolf turned his head to see who stopped him and saw that it was Discord.

"Now, now, let's not be so hasty here! After all she _is_ one of the people of interest we were looking at." the disciplinary committee member said with a shrug.

"Then what do you suggest?" the hooded boy asked as he wrenched his wrist free from Discord's grip.

"Just watch." the hooded man said with a smirk and walked up to the ravenette and crouched down in front of her.

Xion closed her eyes and tensed her body, awaiting a blow to come. But none came. Instead, she felt a hand rest atop her head.

"Now, now... No need to be afraid." he said with a grin as he ruffled the girl's hair. "We're not going to hurt you. After all... This is nothing more than a bad dream." he said soothingly as he smiled at the girl.

Xion opened her eyes and looked at the boy questioningly before her vision began to blur. Within moments her vision went black and she lost consciousness.

**End Theme**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Some time later!<span>**

Xion woke with a start and sat up. She looked around and saw that she was on the bench she was sitting on earlier.

'_Did I fall asleep?_' she thought as she was a hand through her messy hair. She stretched her limbs and thought back on the dream she had. '_So it was all a dream? It felt so real... Maybe I shouldn't sleep outside like a bum next time._' she though with a yawn. She looked up and saw that it was still nighttime, though the sky was beginning to grow lighter somewhat. "What time is it?" she asked herself softly and pulled out her cellphone from her pocket.

It was a MogPhone 5 with a black and white checkered casing and a Paupu fruit design engraved onto the back. Hanging from a small string at the top was a small pink seashell.

She clicked the button on the top and the touchscreen lit up and displayed the time.

"5:30 AM... This is a lot earlier than when a usually wake up. Well, I won't be able to go back to sleep now so I better head home." she said as she turned off the screen and pocketed her phone once more. She stretched her arms over her head and gave out one last yawn and began to make her way towards her apartment and forget about the odd dream she had.

**Narrator****: It has been an exciting few weeks for our heroes! Both Terra and Shin are now the happy parents to one of the rarest Chocobo species to ever exist and they continue to grow closer together. And was the meeting between the hooded figures really just a dream that Xion's tired mind had cooked up, or is something sinister brewing within the shadows of Radiant Garden? Find out all of this and more on the next Kingdom Hearts Academy! Roll the credits!**

**End of Chapter Nine**

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes<strong>

Titano Man: And that's a rap! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter very much. Now this chapter didn't have much action in it since I was focusing more on building the relationships between the characters. But I did sprinkle in some things that would hint towards the future of the arc. If you want to know then you'll have to wait and see! Now here's some news for all of my fans! If you've all checked out my profile page then you would know that I have several stories buzzing around in my heads that I want to try out. A couple are stories I thought up on a whim while others are ones that I legitimately want to try out. I've already written the prologues and first chapters to most to so I could get a feel for them. But I don't know which to post first. Now before you say anything, I'm still nowhere near ready to start working on another full story while I have three right now that still need my attention. These are pretty much only sneak peeks/previews to the worlds I have cooking up. So I'm going to start a poll to see which of the previews you want to see first. Here's a list of the stories with their given premises and summaries. Terra, please be a dear and pull them up.

Terra walked in with a couple of boxes in her arms. She was wearing a Christmas themed outfit comprised of a mid-thigh-length red dress with furry, white trim at the top and bottom hems, a red Santa hat with white trim at the hem and a white puffball at the top, several red and green sashes wrapped around her waste, white stockings with mistletoe printed on them, red boots, long red gloves with the same white trim as the dress, and reindeer earrings.

Terra: Alright.

**Super Smash Brothers Unlimited (Classic Mode)**

Rating: T for teen for violence mild language

Genre: Adventure/Fantasy/Humor

Premise: A tournament style Super Smash Brothers crossover story with Kingdom Hearts/Final Fantasy, and some OCs thrown in for good measure.

Promotional Summary: What happens when you throw Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, and OCs into Super Smash Brothers? Tons of hilarity and epic fighting of course! This is Super Smash Brothers Unlimited! Pick your favorite team to fight through the tournament!

Summary: The time has come again for the Super Smash Brothers tournament and all the competitors aim to become the grand champion. Many faces old and new join the roster to fight for victory and the championship! But this time the invitation has been extended to many new realms. Bringing new and powerful warriors to fight for victory and a grand prize beyond their wildest dreams! There is no good or evil in this story. Only powerful warriors fighting for their fulfill their dreams. Only if they don't kill each other outside of the matches first.

Main Characters: everyone

Secondary characters: everyone

Status: in concept stage.

**Super Smash Brothers Unlimited (Story Mode)  
><strong>  
>Rating: T for violence and mild language<p>

Genre: Adventure/Fantasy/Humor

Premise: A more novelized Super Smash Brothers crossover story focusing more on story than combat. Features characters and elements form Kingdom Hearts/Final Fantasy, and some OCs thrown in for good measure.

Promotional Summary: Like the name suggests, this is the story mode for my Smash Brothers story. This will focus more on the story and the characters than on the combat so don't complain if the fights aren't to often.

Summary: The world of Super Smash Brothers has been reset once more and with this new world comes many new faces. Once the newcomers grow used to the world and its inhabitants, Master Hand begins the next tournament, only this time with new features. As the contestants fight for the championship, something dark slithers under the surface.

Main teams: Aeros & Ignis, Sora & Riku, Terra & Celes, Mario & Luigi

Secondary teams: everyone else

Status: in concept stage.

**Pokémon: Road to Victory  
><strong>  
><span>Rating<span>: T for teen violence, mild language, and suggestive themes

Genre: Adventure/Friendship

Premise: A story taking place within the anime-verse with elements from the games. Features a region of my own creation, OCs, Original Pokemon, a group of criminals of my creation, etc.

Summary: Yuki Fenrir, his adopted sister, Nova Phoenix, and their best friend Koneko Kurotora, had just received their first Pokemon and began their journey to defeat their region's Elite Four and become their region's new champions. Along their way they encounter a boy with a rare Pikachu and help him fend off a group of Pokemon thieves. Afterwards the boy joins them on their journey through the Tempore region as he seeks to conquer the Tempore league. But something dark lurks just under the surface of this seemingly peaceful land.

Main Characters: Yuki Fenrir, Nova Phoenix, Koneko Kurotora, Ash Ketchum, Pikachu.

Secondary Characters: Currently deciding

Villians: Team Aurora

Status: In concept stage.

**Idea for a currently unnamed Kingdom Hearts story.  
><strong>  
><span>Rating<span>: T for teen

Genre: Parody/Humor/Adventure

Premise: A story where Organization XIII suddenly lose their home and are forced to live together with another rival organization. Hilarity ensues.

Summary: It was a normal day in the Castle that Never Was, as normal as it always is with a group of Nobodies. Anyways, all was well until a sudden explosion leveled the entire fortress. Now without a home Xemnas calls in a favor from a rival organization known as the Order. Watch as both groups try to not only complete their respective goals, but also deal with other groups of villains seeking to take them out and become the most famous group of villains there is, their enemies annoying them at every turn, evil lawyers and businessmen, random cameos, idiots from other worlds, and having to live everyday life with each other. Expect a lot of hilarity and chaos.

Main Characters: Roxas, Xion, Axel, Yuki Fenrir, Koneko Kurotora, Nova Phoenix

Secondary Characters: the rest of them.

Villains: DiZ, Riku, CiD, Marie Angela Zoromaki, and tons of other people (no real villains, more like annoying antagonists)

Status: in concept stage.

**Naruto: (Rest of Title, Pending)**(I could use some help coming up with a suitable title)

Rating: Rated M just to be safe.

Genre: Adventure/Romance

Premise: A story where Naruto is taken in by a mysterious group of powerful warriors after being left for dead and groomed to become the most powerful Shinobi there ever was.

Summary: It has been five short years after the dreaded Kyūbi no Kitsune attacked Konohagakure no Sato, leaving both the village and its inhabitants scarred by the attack. Young Naruto Uzumaki has been living a life of pain and loneliness at the hands of the inhabitants of his home and despite the best efforts of the Sandaime Hokage, most of the Shinobi clans, and a small handful of civilians, he is still hated and neglected by all those around him. One day the worst happened and he was nearly killed in a brutal assault that nearly claimed his life. But before anyone could come to his aid, he was taken to the Valley of the End where he was thrown into the ravine at the bottom and left to die. Many years later he returns more powerful than ever. Watch as he takes the ninja world by storm with the mysterious group known only as The Order backing him up.

Main Characters: Naruto Uzumaki, Hinata Hyūga, Yuki Fenrir, Keneko Kurotora.

Secondary Characters: Hiruzen Sarutobi, Kakashi Hatake, The Order

Villains: Orochimaru, Akatsuki

Status: in concept stage.

Titano Man: Those are the ones I'm willing to do. Vote on the one you want to see posted first and I'll post the preview/first chapter of that story. You can only vote once so be sure to pick wisely. The story with the most votes will be uploaded and posted on the site and depending on the response I might move up its official release. Now remember these are only previews for what's to come so there may be a very large gap in time between when I posted the first chapter and when I officially start the story. The poll will end when I post chapter ten of this story after updating my other two, so a month or two at most before the poll ends. And if this poll ends well then I may do it again in the future. End news! Now let's end this chapter. Roll the teaser!

Teaser:

Axel: You've been acting off lately...

Karly: Please train me! I have to get stronger!

?: Get ready for the worst month of your life!

?: History has had many conflicts, but none were so great as the Great War that plagued these worlds.

**Narrator****: Next time... A Lesson in History!**

Titano Man: Goodbye my friends! And happy holidays!

Seifer: See you next time!

Titano Man: That door's STILL not closed?!

* * *

><p>Update: Due to recent technical difficulties at home, I will not be able to post new chapters as frequently as before. In the mean time I will try to find other methods to upload finished chapters. So until the problem is resolved, please be patient for my next update. Thank you.<p> 


	10. A Lesson in History

Titano Man: Hello my friends and welcome back to Final Kingdom Arc 1! Technical difficulties have yet to be fully resolved so I'll update whenever I can wherever I can. Anyways, I'm sure you're all excited for a little slice of life action for this chapter so let's get the ball rolling with the disclaimer!

Damon: Titano Man XIII does not own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, or Final Fantasy in general, Pokémon, or anything else that he decides to put into this story. The only this he does own are all of the OCs that appear in this story with the exception of Shinryu Verus, who belongs to The Unknowing Herald.

Titano Man: On with the show!

* * *

><p><strong>Final Kingdom Arc 1 Kingdom Hearts Academy<strong>

**Chapter 10: A lesson in History**

**Play awesome anime opening**

The scene opened to Karly's bedroom where we see our favorite brunette asleep on her bed. She was lying on her stomach with an arm hanging off the edge of her bed. Her blankets were all a mess with much of it thrown over the edge and pooling on the floor. And lastly her dark chocolate tresses looked beyond messy with much of it looking like a rat's nest.

**Narrator: For quite some time Karly has not been having a good night's rest. Ever since the end of the exam her mind had been plagued by the memory of her first ever defeat, and when she slept, memories from her childhood haunted her dreams, memories that she would rather forget.**

The alarm next to her bed began to ring loudly before it was sent crashing into the wall where it shattered into a thousand pieces.

"Ugh, I lose more clocks that way..." the girl said tiredly as she sat up with a yawn.

She stretched her arms above her head and ran a hand through her messy hair.

There was a knock at the door.

"Karly? Are you awake?" a voice asked gently.

"Yeah, I'm up..." the brunette said tiredly.

The door opened to reveal Karly's house maid, Kara.

The older brunette bit her lip at the girl's disheveled state. She normally wasn't this restless a sleeper.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Kara asked in concern.

"Just fine. Why do you ask?" Karly asked as she looked at the woman, though there was a slight hint of annoyance in her tone.

"Well, you're looking more and more tired every day, and you normally don't wake up with such a nasty bed head. Is there something bothering you?" the house maid asked worriedly.

"For the last time Kara, there's nothing bugging me! Now will you just go?! I have to get ready for school!" the girl snapped angrily, causing the woman to flinch.

"A-alright... I'll see you downstairs." Kara said giving a polite bow and leaving the girl alone in room.

Karly sighed in agitation as she turned her gaze to the floor.

'_Why can't she just mind her own business?! I don't need anybody's sympathies! I don't want them to treat me like I'm some sort of weakling! Never again!_' she thought as she curled her hands into fists. Images of the battle with Damon flashed through her mind and she grit her teeth. 'And I'll prove that I'm strong... starting with him!' she thought with determination.

She then took a calming breath and proceeded to get ready for school.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Later that day<span>**

**Play Final Fantasy VIII OST- Balamb Garden**

It is now halfway through the day and Karly was currently sitting through her history class looking at the board without really seeing what was on it.

Titanomon was sitting on the floor next to her paying rapt attention to the instructor's every word. Since he showed no hostility towards anyone the teachers saw no harm in letting him join the classes, especially since he has such a great interest in learning.

She had a bit of change in attire, simply going for a forest camo patterned shirt with a jean skirt complete with pockets to carry her personal items, black leggings, and and a pair of camo patterned convers sneakers that matched her shirt.

The girl soon got bored with staring off into space and looked around the class. She saw Xion sitting a couple of rows away diligently taking notes on whatever their teacher was saying on whatever subject he was talking about. She turned her head back and saw two of her own friends Sora and Naminé.

She let out a sigh and turned her head to look out of the window.

'_This day is just dragging on and on!_' she thought with a sigh. '_What kind of club should I choose? Sports? No... Cooking? No... Ecology? No... Huh, didn't Xion say something about her green-haired friend and that Shin guy having to take care of an egg or something for the next couple of weeks?_' she thought with an arched brow. (Note that this chapter takes place during the events of the previous one) The girl then focused her thoughts on Shin and frowned. '_He thinks he so cool... Yeah, right! He's just some know it all nice guy who tries to get on everybody's good side... Make them laugh... Being polite... Offering help to everyone... He doesn't let anything bug him... Ugh, he acts just like...!_' she thought as she clenched her fist.

"...And that, my students, is how the War of Transgression between the worlds of Cocoon and Gran Pulse came to a close. Any questions?" the history teacher asked as he looked over his students.

Let us take a moment to examine this man shall we? The man was tall and fairly well built with platinum blond hair that was cut short, a unique platinum blonde mustache, blue eyes, and a fair complexion. He wore a simple long-sleeved, button-up white shirt with a black and white tie with several playing cards imprinted on it, black slacks, and black dress shoes. This man was commonly known as Ulrod "Luxord" Chronos.

Several hands went into the air including Titanomon's claws.

He then noticed Karly looking out the window not at all paying attention to what was going on.

With a sigh the man walked up to her desk.

"Enjoying the clouds I take it?" he asked in a polite British accent as he stood in front of her desk.

"Huh? Oh...!" the girl said when she realized that she had been caught zoning out.

"I suggest that you should pay attention in my class. Were you to have any other teacher, then you would either be forced to answer a question you didn't know the answer to, or given detention for not paying attention." he said sternly though not once losing the politeness in his tone.

"S-sorry...!" Karly said as she flushed in embarrassment.

Several students snickered at the girl for being called out by the teacher.

Luckily the brunette was saved from further embarrassment by the bell, signifying that the class had ended.

"Remember everyone. There will be a special guest speaker next week to talk about the Great War." Ulrod said as his students got up from their seats and began to file out of the room.

Karly got up from her desk and gathered her books. She made her way out of the room with Titanomon trailing after her. Naturally people gave the girl and her partner a wide berth when they saw the red and bronze dinosaur.

"Hey Karly, wait up!" a voice called out causing the girl to look back to see Sora, Naminé, and Xion walking up to her.

"Hey guys, what is it?" she asked curiously as her friends came up to her.

"Nothing much really... Um, how've you been?" Sora asked awkwardly as he scratched the back of his head.

"I've been doing alright, I guess. Why do you ask?" the brunette asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Well..." Naminé started nervously as she searched for an appropriate response. "It's just that you haven't really been acting much like yourself for the last few days." she said while rubbing her arm.

"Really? 'Cause I think that I'm acting just fine!" Karly said with a frown as she crossed her arms.

"But ever since that fight with Damon you've been really cold to everyone." Xion stated with a look of worry on her face.

"And you get really mad easier too. I mean, last week you blew up on Demyx and sent him flying all the way to the other side of town!" said Sora.

**Demyx Owned: 7**

"That idiot was just being annoying!" she said getting more agitated by the minute.

"But that still doesn't justify doing that to him!" Naminé said with a small frown on her delicate features.

"I don't have to justify myself to any of you!" the girl snapped angrily.

"We're just worried about you Karly! You shouldn't be acting this way!" Xion said imploringly.

"Oh, so you're worried?! Listen! I'm not some weak little girl that you can baby and protect! You don't know how I act whenever I'm not around you guys! So just drop it already and leave me alone!" Karly growled out threateningly.

"But...!" the ravenette tried to say but the brunette cut her off.

"I SAID DROP IT!" Karly shouted angrily, causing the entire hallway to suddenly become silent and draw everyone's attention to the four.

Several moments passed by and Karly drew a deep breath. "I'll see you guys later, okay?" she said tiredly as she turned around.

"R-right..." Xion said softly, as if speaking would break the sudden silence that had enveloped them.

The trio watched as their friend walked away with Titanomon tentatively following after her.

Murmurs slowly began to rise from the crowd around them until the hall was filled with noise once more.

"What do we do?" Sora asked in concern.

"Should we... stage an intervention?" Naminé asked nervously.

"Let's wait a little longer. If we do it too soon then we might end up making things worse." Xion said as she rubbed her right arm nervously.

"But I'm really worried about her. Did you see how tired she looked? Even the bags under her eyes had bags!" the pale blonde said as the looked at the ravenette.

"I know... But we just can't risk anything yet." she said with a sigh. "Let's just hope that her mood improves before it comes to that." she said with a frown.

**End Theme**

* * *

><p><strong><span>The next week<span>**

**Play BlazBlue OST- Flos**

Karly was once again sitting in her history class looking boredly out of the widow while everyone else chattered excitedly about the special guest speaker that they would have today.

After a while Ulrod entered the room looking as dashing as ever.

"Good morning class." the blond said politely.

The class greeted their teacher and sat at attention, excitedly waiting for their guest speaker to appear.

"Now as you all know today we'll be having a very special guest speaker come and talk about the Great War." the man said with a smile and chuckled when his students began to talk animatedly. "Now before I bring our guest in, are there any questions?" he asked as he looked over the class.

Almost immediately nearly everyone had their hands raised and asking questions, including Titanomon.

Ulrod chuckled again and waved his hands placatingly to calm the class down.

"Now to answer your question, yes our speaker is one of the great heroes that fought in the war." he said when the class finally settled down, though this statement caused them to buzz with excitement once more.

"I bet it's Dante Sparda!" stated one student.

"Oh, I bet it's someone awesome like Sephiroth!" said another.

"It has to be Sir Ject!"

"Or maybe it's Sir Aaron!"

"It has to be Firion!"

"Maybe it's Laguna?"

"Oh, I hope it's Cecil!" squealed a female student.

"Or Kain!" squealed another.

"I'd really like it to be Bayoneta!" said a male student.

"No way, it's gotta be Ragna the Bloodedge or Hakumen!"

"Sol Badguy!"

"Mega Man!"

"Zero!"

"Link!"

"Sonic!"

"Shadow!"

"Spyro!"

"Solid Snake!"

"Raiden!"

"Samus!"

"Marth!"

"Ike!"

"Iron Man!"

"Spider Man!"

"Thor!"

"Captain America!"

"Wolverine!"

"Shulk!"

(You can tell by now that I'm having a lot of fun with this.)

"Roy Mustang!"

"Alucard!"

"Kakashi Hatake!"

"Gallantmon!" Titanomon stated excitedly.

"Alright, alright. Calm down everyone." Ulrod said as he placated the class one more. "Why don't I just call our guest in to settle all doubt. You may come in now." he said as he looked at the door.

**End Theme**

The students all looked at the door expectantly as it slowly opened.

"You know, I heard you all calling out the names of many heroes, but I never once heard anyone say my name. I guess that I'm not as well known as I thought." the guest speaker said with a chuckle as they entered the room.

The students gasped and a hush fell over the room as they stared in awe at the person before them. Even Karly, who had abstained from joining the earlier babble before, looked at the guest in hidden wonder.

The guest speaker was a stern looking man with black hair tied into a short, high topknot, with one bang falling off to the right side of his face, a short, triangular soul patch and a mustache, brown eyes, and jagged scars over his right eye and left cheek. He bared a distinct Japanese influence in his choice of clothing. He wore a white, red lined haori that had a hood on the back, along with slightly shorter than normal, light-colored hakama. Underneath his haori, he wore a navy blue shirt with a large white X pattern on the front. He wore pieces of armor, in his case gold and black armored boots and a dull blue-green section that covered his abdomen. This second piece of armor sported the Mark of Mastery insignia near the top of it.

**Play Kingdom Hearts OST- The Promised Beginning**

"Greetings students. I am Eraqus. Master of the Keyblade and guardian of the Land of Departure." the man said formally.

The students stared at the man in absolute awe and disbelief. They certainly did not expect one of the legends of the war to appear before them.

Karly stared at the man with a look that suggested that she was trying to place the face in her memories.

'_Where have I seen that guy before?_' she thought as she scrunched her eyebrows together in concentration.

"Now before I begin, are there any questions?" Eraqus asked as he looked over the class.

Almost immediately nearly every hand rose into the air.

The Keyblade Master scanned the rows of desks before he settled on one student.

"Yes, what is your question young lady?" he asked as he looked at Xion.

Xion lowered her hand and quickly gathered her thoughts.

"I've heard a great deal about the war, but I never understood what it was about. What caused it in the first place?" she asked politely.

"I suppose that is as good a place as any to begin." the man said with a nod. "History is filled with many great conflicts. But none were as terrible or as scarring to all worlds such as the Great War." he said as he closed his eyes and thought back to the very beginning.

"In order to understand the war itself, you must go back to the beginning. Many years ago, before most of you were even born, there were several great and strong empires across the worlds. Arcadia of Ivalice, the Gestahl Empire, the kingdom of Palamecia, and even the once prosperous land of Anima that had resided upon this very world were all considered superpowers at the time. But despite the great power and influence they already had, they wanted more." a sigh escaped Eraqus' lips before he continued. "But the tipping point came when a man by the name of Mateus became the Emperor of Palamecia. In his mad bid for power the Emperor gained unholy powers over darkness and the demons of hell. With his new found abilities he traveled to each of the kingdoms I had mentioned before and used his silver tongue to form alliances with them. Once the pacts were forged they spent the next five years planning their campaign on the worlds." he paused for dramatic effect.

Everyone in the class gave Eraqus their undivided attention as he told his story.

"And then one of the most infamous days in the history of the worlds came. Fifteen years ago on November 17, the Palamecian Empire launched an unprovoked attack on the kingdoms of Fynn, Baron, Cornelia, and Tycoon all at once. Even though they were able to fend off the Emperor's forces, they suffered great losses and were weakened from the assault. But before any other world could send aid, Arcadia, the Gestahl Empire, and Anima launched consecutive assaults upon the neighboring countries of their respective worlds. These series of unprovoked attacks drove many worlds to declare war on the Dark Powers as we called them." the Keyblade Master said as he held his hands behind his back.

"For the next year or so we had many victories as well as suffered many defeats, but the true turning point of the war was when both my fellow Master of the Keyblade, Xehanort and I helped the Espers of the World of Balance defend their home from the forces of the Gestahl Empire and Palamecia when they attempted to invade the realm." Eraqus said fondly as he recalled that day, that was the first true victory of the war. "After that the war slowly began to turn our way. Over the course of the next three years we were steadily making progress in attaining victory. But the final year of the war was the most difficult, for that was when the Dark Powers revealed their trump cards. The four great empires pooled their resources together to construct the ultimate battleship, as well as the most powerful, and most horrifying weapon to ever exist." he said with a frown.

"What kind of weapon was it?" Sora asked with a mixture of anticipation and nervousness.

"A devastating machine that could mow down everything in its path. And even worse was that it carried a bomb that was powerful enough to bring an end to entire nations." he said with a frown.

Everyone shivered at the thought.

"We retaliated quickly enough and were able to destroy both the ship and the weapon over the capital of Anima, but we had suffered many casualties and lost many good people in the process, including the nearly the entire nation of Anima itself." the man said as he shook his head.

"I think I remember that." Naminé said in thought. "I remember seeing something on tv about a huge explosion somewhere when I was really young." she said with her eyebrows scrunched together as she brought out the memory.

Several other students murmured in agreement as they recalled what they heard about it.

"Yes, that was the weapon detonating over the capital of Anima. The fallout from the blast spread over the entire country and made the land nearly inhospitable. But that battle was also where Emperor Mateus, Emperor Gestahl, and the reigning emperor of Arcadia at the time met their ends. With their most powerful ally defeated, and greatly weakened from the loss of their rulers along with many long years of fighting, Palamecia, the Gestahl Empire, and Arcadia surrendered and the war finally came to an end." Eraqus said proudly, which caused the students to cheer. After a chuckle he continued. "After the battles ended a treaty was signed and the worlds finally entered a time of peace. A time in which you all live in right now." he finished with a nod and everyone clapped exuberantly for the man.

"What happened to Arcadia, Palamecia, and the Gestahl Empire after the war?" Xion asked curiously.

"With the loss of their leaders and the treaty we were able to reorganize their power structure and brought people who we felt could lead them into better futures into power. As of now, Arcadia, Palamecia, and the Gestahl Empire are stable and are now our allies in the United Worlds Federation." he said as he let his arms fall to his sides.

The girl nodded in understanding.

"Now, any questions?" Eraqus asked as he looked over the students.

Like before nearly every hand was up in the air.

The Keyblade master scanned the room once more and noticed Titanomon waving his arm excitedly. '_A Digimon? They have become quite a rare sight since the war. Who is its partner I wonder?_' he thought as he looked to the seat next to the dinosaur-like creature. He saw the girl next to him staring at him intently with a searching look on her face. At that moment a spark of familiarity appeared in his heart. 'Where have I seen her before?' he thought as his eyes met the girl's.

**End Theme**

Karly's eyes widened in realization. "Now I remember...!" she said paling slightly, as if she'd seen a ghost.

Eraqus quirked a brow curiously. "Excuse me young lady, do you have a question?" he asked the girl.

"Daybreak Town, December 31st, eleven years ago..." Karly said with a far off look in her eyes.

Eraqus' eyes widened in shock as he stared at the brunette.

Xion sported a confused look and she turned her gaze towards the Keyblade master.

"What's the importance of that date?" she asked curiously.

The man then let out a tired and weary sigh as he closed his eyes.

"I'm sure many of you know what that day signifies." he said wearily.

The room grew deathly quiet and even Ulrod frowned.

"That was the day the Heartless first appeared..." Karly said as she looked down at her desk. She saw that her hands had clenched into fists without her noticing and they were bleeding a little from her nails digging into the skin.

"That is correct." Eraqus said with a nod. "On the eve before the fifth and final year of the war began... The Dark Powers, in an attempt to cripple us and buy themselves some time, unleashed accursed abominations known as the Heartless upon several small and peaceful villages. They were Traverse Town, Twilight Town, Destiny Islands, Serenity Valley, and Daybreak Town. Master Xehanort, myself, and many other Keyblade wielders attempted to drive out the monsters, for only those who wield the Keyblade can combat the Heartless. We fought valiantly and gave it all that we had and more... But the Heartless continued to spawn in droves. By the time the dawn of the new year had finally arrived, many innocent lives had been lost and those of us who wielded the Keyblade had dwindled to little more than a small handful. That day was considered one of the three great tragedies of the final year." he said regretfully.

"How terrible!" Xion gasped softly.

"Yes. Many still carry the scars of that day with us." the man said with a nod.

The class was utterly silent at the sudden change in mood.

Karly then suddenly stood up from her seat and gathered her books.

"What's wrong Karly?" Ulrod asked in concern.

"I'm not feeling well... I doubt that I'll be able to make it back to class, so may I please be excused?" she asked with her head bowed. Her hair hung over her face and casted shadows over her eyes.

"If that's the case then you may be excused." the blond said politely.

The brunette nodded in thanks and walked out the door.

'_Karly, were you... there when that happened?_' Xion thought as she watched the girl go.

* * *

><p><strong><span>On the roof<span>**

**Play BlazBlue OST- Hollow**

Karly was sitting on the floor of the roof that was right next to the stairwell as she thought about what had just happened not even ten minutes ago. She thought about the day the Heartless appeared. The day they... With a yell of frustration she punched the floor, causing web-like cracks to appear from the center of impact. "I won't be like that! Not again... I have to be strong!" she muttered angrily. She lifted up her hand and examined her now bleeding knuckles. There was a sharp pain in her index knuckle, no doubt the bone had been fractured.

With a sigh the brunette pulled a potion out of her backpack and pulled the cork off with her teeth. She poured the contents of the bottle onto her hand and winced slightly when the stinging sensation appeared. When the wound was done healing, she did the same for the cuts on her palms and poured the liquid onto them. When that was done she put the cork back onto the bottle and placed it in her bag.

Karly looked up to the sky and a look of sadness appeared on her features. "I wish you were here..." With another sigh she looked down and pulled a small, silver heart-shaped locket out from her shirt and held it in front of her. "I need someone to talk to... Someone who understands..." she muttered as a single tear escaped from her eye and slid down her cheek.

"I can talk to you, if you want?" a voice said above her.

With a cry of surprise, Karly looked up to see none other than Damon Chaos sitting on top of the concrete box that encased the stairs.

"Hey there, princess!" the head of the disciplinary committee said in a friendly tone.

"You!" she cried in indignant anger as she bolted up and spun around to face the boy.

"Me!" he replied smartly with a grin on his face as he jumped down from the box.

"How long were you there?!" she asked angrily.

"Hm, since about sixth period." he said while holding his chin in thought.

"What do you want?" she asked with a twitching brow.

"Well, you said you wanted someone to talk to and I offered to lend my ear." Damon said with a shrug.

"You're the last person I want to talk to!" Karly said as she turned away from him.

"Ouch! You wound me with your scornful words!" the black-haired boy said melodramatically as he held a hand over his heart.

When he saw that he didn't get any reaction from her he stood straight and frowned slightly.

"Come on, you can tell me! Tell Damon what your problem is!" he said with a friendly grin.

"It's you! You're my problem jackass!" the girl replied tersely.

"Huh? What did I ever do to you?" the head of the disciplinary committee asked in confusion.

"You beat me!" Karly said irritated by his cluelessness.

"Uh..." he said still not seeing the problem.

"I. Don't. Like. Losing." she elaborated through gritted teeth.

"Oh..." the boy said in realization "Why's that?" he asked curiously.

"None of your business!" she said rudely. "Just know that I'm going to kick your ass for that!" she growled as she entered a boxing stance.

"Can't we talk this out?" Damon asked with a sweatdrop.

"No!" Karly said before dashing at the boy.

**Exactly twenty seconds later**

Karly now found herself lying on her back with Damon straddling her hips and pinning both of her arms above her head with his hands.

She grunted and attempted to free herself from his grasp but found that his grip was too strong. And after several moments of futile escape attempts, the girl gave up and stopped struggling.

"You done?" the boy asked boredly.

The brunette turned her head away and nodded meekly.

"Okay now... Just what the heck is your deal? Why do you hate losing so much?" He asked with a frown.

"Because it reminds me of how weak I am..." she muttered softly, hoping that he hadn't heard her.

"Why do you think that?" he asked with interest, causing the girl to curse inwardly.

"It doesn't matter! Now get off!" she said as she glared at the boy.

"Well it obviously matters to you if you're so quick to snap at people. Now will you tell me?" he asked with an arched brow.

"No! I don't wanna!" she said childishly as she looked away with a pout.

They stayed that way for several moments before Damon let out a sigh.

"Alright." he said with a shrug and got off her.

"Huh?!" Was the intelligent reply that left her lips as she stared at the boy incredulously.

"You're obviously not ready to talk about it so I'm not going to force it from you." he said as he turned around and started walking away.

Karly sat up and watched as he walked towards the stairs.

"Some people can be so stubborn sometimes." he said as he stopped in front of the door. "But before I go, let me ask you one thing? Since you first arrived here, how many fights did you win?" he asked as he looked back at her.

She opened her mouth to answer but he cut her off before she could.

"And don't say Seifer and his posse, Phantomon, or Devimon 'cause they don't count. I'm asking you how many fights you won, on your own, with no back up?" he asked with his hands in his pockets.

Karly opened and closed her mouth several times to answer, but each time found herself unable to find one. She looked down at her lap and thought about every fight she had been in so far. She quickly realized that not a single one was just her by herself. She always had someone there to back her up.

"Listen, you're a pretty strong girl, and there's nothing wrong with fighting alongside others. But if you can't stand on your own two feet without someone holding your hand then you'll never get any stronger. You have to learn to rely on yourself just as much as you rely on others. That way, you'll never have to worry about being seen as weak again." he said with a shrug. He then scratched the back of his head and let out a sigh. "Listen to me being all philosophical." he said with a chuckle and shook his head. "Anyways, I gotta go. I have to go make sure that my disciplinary committee doesn't self destruct without my great leadership skills! So when you're ready to talk, you know where to find me." he said before he turned around and gave a lazy wave.

He got off the roof and left Karly alone to her thoughts.

The girl looked down at her lap and bit her lips. '_Learn to stand on my own two feet._' she thought as a look of determination slowly set itself onto her features.

**End Theme**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Days later<span>**

**Play Final Fantasy VIII OST- Breezy**

It was Friday and Karly was walking down the hallway with Titanomon and Xion at her side.

For the last few days Karly had been thinking about Damon's words to her. As she thought about it her friends noticed the change in her behavior and saw that she didn't look so tired or hostile anymore.

"... And when I finally caught up to them, they were able to get the egg back and what surprised me was that it hatched! Oh, you should have seen the it! The little thing was so adorable!" Xion said excitedly. "The only downside was that the thief got away." she said with a sigh.

"That's pretty interesting." The brunette said as she looked at her raven-haired friend.

Xion had just finished telling her the story of what happened at the Marketplace the day before. It was a pretty interesting tale to say the least.

"Human females and their obsession with cute little animals. I don't think that I will ever understand it..." Titanomon said with a sigh as he walked alongside his partner.

"Shut up! Like we could understand boys and their obsession with violence and explosions!" Karly said with a giggle as she flicked her partner on the snout.

The trio continued down the hall chatting lightly until the brunette noticed a familiar black coat and mop of messy black hair.

"Um hey, you two go on ahead. I have to take care of something for a minute." she said sheepishly as she looked at the two and scratched the back of her head.

"What do you have to take care of?" Xion asked curiously.

"It's just something that I have to do." she said evasively.

"Well, will it take long?" the ravenette asked with a small frown.

"It won't take long at all, honest!" Karly said with a hand on her heart.

"Hm, alright... Don't take too long, okay?" Xion said as she turned to leave.

"Got it!" the brunette said with a nod.

Xion nodded and walked away.

"You go on ahead too Titanomon. I'll catch up quick." she said as she looked at her partner

The Digimon stared at his partner suspiciously for a moment before he nodded and began to move on ahead.

When her partner was out of sight Karly quickly turned towards the direction she saw Damon walking towards.

After a little bit she was able to catch up to the head of the disciplinary committee.

"Damon!" Karly called out, catching the boy's attention.

"Huh?" he said as he looked back to see Karly walking up to him. "Oh, it's you. You ready to talk yet?" he asked with his hands in his pockets.

"No, I'm not here about that." she said as she looked away from him.

"Oh? Then what is it?" he asked with an arched brow.

"Um, can we talk about this somewhere else? I don't really want to say it in front of so many people." she said as she glanced at the passing students around them.

The boy gave her a curious look before shrugging and taking her hand. "Alright. I'll take you to my office in the disciplinary committee room." he said as he pulled her along down the hall.

Karly felt a blush creep onto her face at how the boy just so casually took her hand and walked with her down the hall. She could already tell that the gossip girls' gossip senses were tingling.

**End Theme**

* * *

><p><strong><span>In the disciplinary committee office<span>**

After a couple of minutes the duo reached the main office of the disciplinary committee.

To say Karly was surprised at the sight was an understatement. She had been under the impression that the members of the disciplinary committee were a bunch of violent punks. Instead what she found were mostly average looking students moving to and fro like busy bees. There some tough looking members but they were all actually pretty nice. And also shocking was the fact that there were even some members looked like they wouldn't even hurt a fly. It was jarring to say the least.

"Surprised?" Damon asked amusedly as he looked at the girl's bemused expression.

Karly nodded dumbly and the boy chuckled.

"A lot of people get the wrong idea when they hear the words disciplinary committee. Frankly. I blame anime for that." he said with a shake. "We're really just a bunch of kids who're passionate about protecting this school." he said with a grin.

"Hey captain!" one of the disciplinary members said excitedly as they gave a wave.

Damon return the gesture and continued through towards his office.

"How did someone like you become in charge of this whole thing anyways? I thought that a senior would be in charge?" Karly asked curiously.

"Well the last guy in charge was a tyrant who abused his power. Everyone was terrified of the guy, even those that worked under him. He always looked calm on the outside, but when he snapped everyone in his way would end up in the infirmary, even his own subordinates. Anyways, not long after I got here I got strong-armed into joining the committee. After a while I got sick with how he was running things and challenged the guy to a one on one fight. I beat him and the other members ratted him out to the head master. The rules of the committee states that if a member of the committee defeats the captain then they become captain themselves. It was a pain at first, but I was able to whip everyone into shape." he said with a shrug.

"Whoa..." the girl said in awe.

"Unfortunately the opinions of the other students ain't that easy to change. A lot of them still don't like the disciplinary committee and avoid us like the plague." he said with a shrug.

"That sucks." said Karly.

"Yeah, but what are you gonna do? Haters gonna hate and all that." the captain said nonchalantly.

They stopped in front of a door that had the words head captain written on a small plaque on the door.

"Hey Fuu! How's the eye?" Damon asked as he looked at the girl sitting at the desk next to the door.

Karly turned to the girl and saw that it was indeed one of Seifer's posie members, Fūjin. She was looking over several files and reports on her desk with a cup of tea sitting on a saucer next to them. She looked quite well though she still wore an eyepatch over her left eye.

Fūjin looked at Damon and nodded politely. "Better." she said before returning to her work.

"That's good. Keep up the good work!" the black-haired boy said politely before entering his office.

Fuu gave another nod before she heard the door close.

"She must be in a good mood today. She normally doesn't even look at me." Damon said as let go of Karly's hand and set his coat onto a nearby coat rack. He sat on his chair and set his feet onto the table.

"You can tell?" Karly asked with a raised brow.

"You learn to read between the lines." he said simply. "So what do you want to talk about again?" he asked as he looked at the girl.

Karly sat in the chair in front of the boy's desk and took a deep breath. "I... thought about what you said. You know, about learning to stand on my own to feet in order to get stronger." she said as she stared down at her lap.

"I believe I recall that." he said he looked up and held his chin in thought. Though it was obvious that he was only doing this to tease the girl. "So what did you learn?" he asked as he crossed his arms.

"You're right. I can't rely on others to always be there to help me when I get myself into trouble. I have to learn to rely on myself just as much. That way I can be strong... That way I won't... lose anything." she said as she placed her hand over her heart where the locket rested. "So I came to a decision..." a look of determination appeared on her face. "I want you to train me! I want you to make me strong!" she said with every ounce of determination she could muster.

"How strong do you want to be?" Damon asked after getting over the initial shock.

"Strong enough to beat anyone! Strong enough to beat you!" she said as fierce brown eyes locked with curious red ones.

Several moments passed by and then Damon suddenly broke out into hearty laughter.

To her credit Karly did not get offended.

"I knew there was something I liked about you!" he said with a grin. "You got guts princess, I'll tell you that! Alright, I'll train ya. But I got a few conditions for you to take." he said as he pulled his feet off the table and leaned his elbows onto the desk.

"I'm listening." said the girl.

"Alright, first, you show up on time or else I'll make it ten times harder for you than it already is. Second, you do what I say without complaint. That means if I tell you to clean my office from top to bottom then you do it! And third, you join the disciplinary committee. A girl with your talent, potential, and overall enthusiasm will be a great asset to us." he said listing off the terms on his fingers. "Those are my terms. So what do you say?" he asked as he crossed his arms.

Karly thought for several minutes, weighing the pros and cons about agreeing before she finally came to a decision.

"You got yourself a deal!" she said as she extended her hand.

Damon shook Karly's hand and grinned. "Welcome to the team Karly!"

**Narrator: Karly has joined with the disciplinary committee in order to become stronger on her own. Will she succeed? And what happened on the day the Heartless appeared that left such an impact on her? Will we learn more about the Great War? So many questions but so few answers. Find the answers in future installments of Kingdom Hearts Academy!**

**End of chapter 10**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Author's Notes<span>**

Titano Man: And that wraps up this chapter! You know, for my first Karly-centric chapter I'm quite pleased with this. I think I was able to represent her without much trouble. Now in other news I noticed that there hasn't been that many votes on my poll for which new story you people want to see next. So out of the endless generosity in my heart I decided to extend it for another few chapters. So this time the poll will end on chapter thirteen. So be sure to vote after you leave a review! The summaries are on my profile if you want a quick rundown on what they're about. And remember, you can only cast one vote so think about your choice carefully! Now with that out of the way let's show the teaser for the next chapter!

Teaser:

Teacher: Class, we have a new student joining us today!

Karly: I joined the disciplinary committee.

?: Why are you bugging me?

Damon: So how do you like it here at KHA so far?

Demyx: I was frozen today.

**Narrator: Next time, New students arrive! An early winter?!**

Titano Man: This is Titano Man XIII signing off, now if you excuse me I got to find out who keeps letting people in here.

Luxord: Until the next time chaps!

Titano Man: Et tu Luxord?


	11. New Students Arrive!

Titano Man: Hello people of the internet! I'm happy to see how popular this story is starting to be. Unfortunately my update schedule will fluctuate due to none of the computers at home having Microsoft Word. But that still won't stop me from writing! So without further ado, roll the disclaimer!

Naminé: Titano Man XIII does not own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, or Final Fantasy in general, Pokémon, or anything else that he decides to put into this story. The only this he does own are all of the OCs that appear in this story with the exception of Shinryu Verus, who belongs to The Unknowing Herald.

Titano Man: On with the show!

* * *

><p><strong>Final Kingdom Arc 1 Kingdom Hearts Academy<strong>

**Play Bleach opening 4- Tonight, tonight, tonight by Beat Crusaders**

The scene opens to show Xion standing in a short line in the café below her apartment.

The café was a small, quaint establishment with a homey feel to it. The interior design of the place was spacious, but had many tables grouped together to give a communal feel. The walls were in a soft cream color with the dark brown furniture complimenting them nicely. Small, circular tables big enough for two people to sit at were grouped together near the front to the left of the entrance while small, square tables big enough for at least four people were grouped together to the right of the entrance. Towards the back of the café were six small booths, three to both the left and right, big enough to hold small groups of people. The tables were a soft cream while the cushioned seats were a dark coffee color. Situated at the very back of the establishment was the main counter where the clerks and baristas worked filling out orders and make transactions. To the right of the counter was a door that led to the kitchen where the succulent, mouth watering aroma of fresh baked goods wafted into the room.

**Narrator: It had been nearly two whole months since the school year began and was now nearing the month of October. All around Radiant Garden one could see the people getting into the season, setting up decorations and beginning preparations for upcoming festival that will take place on all hallows eve, otherwise known as Halloween. But at the moment we shift our focus towards Xion as she waits in line.**

Xion took in the scent, enjoying the pleasant sensation she got from the smell.

She heard the clerk call out for the next customer in line and she walked up to the counter.

The ravenette placed her order and several minutes later the clerk came back with two small boxes filled with freshly baked cinnamon rolls.

Xion nearly drooled from the smell alone.

She paid for her order and left the café with pastries in hand.

The girl took in a deep breath of the crisp Sunday morning air and felt her muscles relax.

It was a fairly pleasant Sunday morning and our favorite ravenette was heading out to meet with her friends in the city square.

The weather was fair for autumn, not too hot, not too cold. The perfect weather for a day out with friends.

The people of Radiant Garden were out and about on their daily business and simply enjoying the pleasant weather.

With a smile, Xion began to make her way towards the Central Square but not ten steps later did she bump into someone in front of her, nearly dropping the sweet confections in her grasp.

"Oh, I'm sorry for bumping into you! I wasn't looking where I was going." she said apologetically as she gave the stranger a bow.

"It's alright." the stranger said waving it off. Their voice was male. But unlike most men whose voices ranged from various deep tones, it was soft, calm, and had a certain gentleness to it. "I wasn't looking where I was going either." he said sheepishly.

Xion stood straight and took in the stranger's appearance.

The stranger was a fairly good looking young man with pale skin, shoulder-length, wild, snow white hair that was somewhat ruffled, resembling a wolf's mane with bangs hanging just above his right eye, and deep violet eyes that held a calm aloofness to them. He stood at around 5'8" and had a lithe build. His attire consisted of a black, sleeveless zip-up vest with a wolf's head as the zipper piece, a pair of long black pants. His pants were tucked into a pair of black boots with silver accents on them and he wore a pair of black gloves. Over all of this he wore a waist-length, hooded, white, long-sleeved jacket with black accents. Wrapped around his neck was a long white scarf that he could pull up to his the lower half of his face. He had a calm and aloof expression on his face which could easily be mistaken for being bored.

The scene then froze and the title card appeared with Xion's voice calling out what it said.

**New Students Arrive!**

"Oh, I don't think I've seen you before! Are you new around town?" she asked curiously.

"Yes, I am." the boy said with a nod. "My friends and I had moved here fairly recently. We came here because we were invited to attend Kingdom Hearts Academy." he said as he stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"Really?!" the ravenette asked excitedly. "I go there myself. It's a great place with a lot of nice people. I'm sure that you and your friends are going to have a great time!" she said with a smile. "Oh, my name is Xion by the way! Xion Alyson Stoner, at your service!" she said cheerfully as she extended a hand towards the boy while holding the box of cinnamon rolls in her other hand.

The boy gave a small smile and shook the girl's hand. "Yuki Fenrir." he replied softly before letting his hand fall to his side.

"Well it was nice meeting you Yuki. Maybe we'll see each other around the school." she said as she held the box of pastries in front of her.

"Perhaps we will." the white-haired boy said with a nod. Just then a delightful aroma hit his nose and his eyes widened in shock. "Are those cinnamon rolls?!" he asked with slightly widened eyes.

"Huh? Oh yeah, they are." she said as she looked down at the two small boxes in her hands. She looked back towards the white-haired young man and noticed that he was staring at the box as if it was the most valuable thing in the world. "I bought these to share with my friends when I meet up with them." she said in a somewhat confused tone as she arched a brow.

He managed to shake himself from his trance and look at the girl before responding in a calm tone. "Is that so? Well I'm sure that your friends will enjoy them. And sorry for staring... I just really like cinnamon rolls." Yuki said sheepishly as he pulled his scarf up over his mouth and nose to hide the small blush on his cheeks.

Xion giggled before at the action replying. "It's okay." she said waving him off. "Anyways, I hope they enjoy them too! The café here makes some of the best pastries around." the ravenette said as she gestured towards the café behind her with her head.

The boy cast his gaze on the quaint little establishment and quirked a brow.

"I might try that place out sometime." he said as he turned his gaze back to the girl.

"You should! Their pastries are the best in town!" Xion said with a grin.

"Alright, I'll be sure to check it out." said the boy.

"Well it was nice meeting you, but I have to go meet up with my friends. Maybe I'll see you around?" she said before walking off.

"Perhaps we may Xion, perhaps we may." Yuki said as he watched the girl walk away.

He pulled his scarf up over his mouth and let out a soft chuckle. He then vanished in a flurry of ice and snow.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Later, at the Central Square!<span>**

**Play BlazBlue OST- Flos**

The Central Square bustled with activity as people scurried to a fro, doing their daily business.

Karly sat at a table in front of a small restaurant situated near the open plaza, waiting for the rest of her friends to show up.

The friends that were with her, which were Sora, Riku, Kairi, Naminé, Ventus, Lea, Myde, and even Ienzo, who was sipping from a cup of earl grey and had his nose buried in a book, waited patiently, having idle chit-chat with each other to pass the time.

The brunette yawned tiredly and looked up towards the sunny sky. Despite the fact that she was starting to sleep better at night, she still wasn't a morning person.

Large, fluffy, white clouds floated by lazily, often casting shadows on the ground as they passed by.

She looked down at the ground and saw her Digimon partner, Titanomon, curled up in a ball, snoozing away, if the snot bubble coming out of his nose was any indication.

The girl let out a sigh and looked towards the people present.

"When are they getting here?" she asked impatiently as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Chill out Karly. I just texted them. The others will be here in a bit." Lea said nonchalantly as he leaned back on his chair with his feet propped up on the table.

Myde sat across from the redhead, strumming his trademarked blue sitar, Arpeggio. "Yeah, you gotta learn how to relax!" he said in a laid back tone.

"A slacker like you knows only how to relax, Myde." Ienzo said without looking up from his book.

"You're such a jerk Zexion!" the musician said with a pout.

Kairi then looked over to Karly and spoke in a sheepish tone. "Speaking of relaxing Karly, I noticed that you've been a lot less..." the auburn-haired girl paused as she tried to find the correct word to use.

"Of a jerk?" said Riku.

"Short fused?" said Sora.

"Mean?" said Naminé.

"Angry?" said Ven.

"Crabby?" Myde said as he strummed his sitar.

"Irritable?" Ienzo added without looking up from his book.

"A ***invalid voice effect*** and a half?" said Lea

"...Hostile, lately." Kairi finished after she found the appropriate word.

Karly sighed and scratched the back of her head. "Yeah, sorry about that. I was going through some personal biz at the time so I wasn't in the best of moods." she said with a small shrug.

"That's an understatement! What was your problem anyways?" Lea asked curiously.

"Like I said. It was personal biz, so you don't need to know what it was." the brunette said defensively as she closed her arms over her chest.

"Fair enough." the redhead said with a shrug and let the matter drop.

Several moments of silence passed before Kairi spoke up again.

"So I heard from Xion that you had to speak with the head of the disciplinary committee the other day..." she said somewhat nervously, unsure of how her friend would react.

"Yeah, I did. What of it?" the brunette said nonchalantly.

"What would you need to talk to that guy about?!" asked Lea, his dislike of the disciplinary committee clear in his tone.

"As hard as this is to believe, I asked him to train me." the girl said as she turned her face away from the group to hide the embarrassed blush painting her cheeks.

"Train you?" Kairi asked in confusion.

"Why would you want that guy to train you?" Lea asked with a quirked brow.

Karly looked down at the table she sat at and sighed. "You fought that guy yourself. You should know just how strong he is. He beat all of us, beat me, so easily. We weren't even a blip on his radar." she said with a small scowl.

The group remembered the battle they had against the leader of the disciplinary committee not too long ago. It was an eye opening experience to say the least.

"Damon made me realize that there are tons of people out there that are leagues beyond me in strength! It's like I haven't grown at all since-!" the brunette paused as a particular memory came to the front of her mind. She quickly shook her head, dispelling the memory and released a huff. "I felt like a total weakling. And I hate feeling weak!" she said with a scowl.

Everyone remained silent as they looked at their friend. This was the most Karly had ever told them about herself or her feelings. Despite their best efforts in the past, the girl just didn't want to open herself up to them, and now here she was, telling them about how the battle against Damon had affected her. The group had to tread carefully now, lest they accidentally make the brunette close herself off again.

"So that's why you've been acting the way you did." Kairi said with a nod. It made sense now.

"So what made your mood improve?" Ventus asked curiously.

The girl shrugged a bit before replying. "After one of those... war heroes came in to talk about the Great War, I went up to the roof and ran into Damon again. I fought him and he ended up beating me again... easily." she said with a growl and a small scowl at the memory of him pinning her to the ground. "Anyways, we talked for a bit and he said a few things that got me thinking." her expression cooled and she looked up to the sky. "After that I decided to seek him out and ask him to train me to get stronger. And he agreed to it." she said with a shrug, thus finishing her exposition.

"That was nice." Naminé said with a small smile.

"Yeah, what's the catch?" asked Lea.

"Hm?" Karly asked with a quirked brow as she looked at the red-haired pyro.

"I doubt that he agreed to it out of the goodness of his heart. What did he want in return?" he asked as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"That's kind of why I called all of you out here." the brunette said with a shrug. "In order to become strong, I joined the disciplinary committee." she paused, waiting for everyone's reactions.

"What?!" Lea asked in shock.

Everyone else on the other hand simply widened their eyes, or in Ienzo's case, arched a brow.

"You heard me. Damon wanted me to join up so he could train me better, otherwise he wouldn't really have the time to help me. So naturally, I agreed." she said with a shrug, as if it wasn't that big of a deal.

"How could you join the disciplinary committee?! Those bastards abuse their power and make everyone's lives miserable!" the redhead said with a scowl as he threw a small glare at the girl.

"The disciplinary committee isn't like that anymore. I visited their office. They're all really nice people who genuinely care about the academy. They've changed." the brunette said defensively.

"Forgive me if I find that hard to believe." the man said skeptically.

"I'm serious! The disciplinary committee isn't like it used to be when that Isa guy was in charge. Things are different now." she said as she looked into her older friend's bright green eyes.

The two stared fiercely into each other's eyes for several moments, neither one looking as if they were going to to back down.

The redhead saw the sheer determination in the girl's eyes, her unbending will and unshakable resolve. He realized just how serious she was about this.

With a sigh he bowed his head slightly and scratched the back of his head.

"Nothing I'll say is going to change your mind, huh?" he asked with a chuckle.

"Once I make a decision, I follow it to the end." she said resolutely.

"Geez, you're a lot like he was..." the pyro said with a nostalgic smile on his face.

"Huh?" the brunette asked in confusion.

"Nothing." Lea said waving it off. "Since you're serious about this, then I'll support your decision. Just promise not to abuse your position, or let it go to your head." he said with a smirk.

"Thanks Axel." Karly said with a smile. "What about the rest of you? What do you guys think?" she asked as she looked towards the rest of her friends.

"Well, this is your decision. We wouldn't be able to sway you even if we tried." Riku said with a shrug.

"Plus, we're your friends. It's our job to support you and have your back whenever you need us." Kairi said with a smile.

Karly smiled at her friends, thankful that they were so understanding. Maybe it payed to be more open with them. "Thanks guys, you're all awesome!" she said with a grin.

"Hey, what are friends for?" Sora asked rhetorically as he grinned ear to ear.

"Speaking of friends..." the brunette said as her smile melted into a small frown. She turned her attention towards the streets around them. "Where the hell are Roxas and Xion?!" she said in annoyance.

**End Theme**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Meanwhile!<span>**

**Play Kingdom Hearts OST- A Walk in Andante**

Roxas was running towards the Central Square to meet up with his friends and brother.

He quickly sped around a corner and picked up the pace. He was already late enough as it was!

The blond looked down the road ahead of him and saw a familiar head of short black hair.

"Hey, Xion!" he called out as he caught up to the girl.

The ravenette turned around and saw the blond running up to her.

"Oh, hi Roxas." she said with a small smile appearing on her lips, happy to see one of her friends.

"You heading to meet up with the others?" the boy asked as he slowed to stand next to the girl.

"Yeah, I also bought us some snacks!" she said as she held up the boxes of cinnamon rolls for the boy to see.

"Cool." he said with a grin. Leave it to Xion to think about others first. "Those smell great!" he said as he caught a whiff of the delectable aroma.

"I hope the others think so too. They're fresh out of the oven!" she said with a smile as she looked down at the boxes in her hands. She hoped her friends enjoyed the pastries as much as she did.

"We should probably hurry up. We don't want Karly to get annoyed more than she probably already is. Plus we don't want the snacks to get cold either." Roxas said with a chuckle as he looked at the girl.

Xion nodded in agreement and the two walked side by side down the busy streets towards the Central Square.

The duo walked beside each other in a comfortable silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

'_Roxas and I haven't really hung out much since we met. I think he's pretty cool, and I would really like to get to know him better. Plus... He's kinda easy on the eyes.'_ she thought as she looked at the blond, her face flushing a faint pink color at the last thought.

'_The big Halloween festival is coming up and I don't have anyone to go with. Lea said that he'll be busy for a while and can't come with me. Sora wants to ask Kairi to go with him, so he's out. I could ask Naminé, but she would probably want to stay home to paint or something. Myde could work, but then again, he would probably ditch me as soon as we get there. Better forget about Riku and Ienzo, those two aren't exactly party goers. And Ven said that he won't be in town that day since he'll be visiting his old friends in the Land of Departure. Dammit, who else would want to come with me?!_' he thought in frustration as he tried to think of someone who could go with him. (Gee, I wonder?!)

Roxas then turned his head in Xion's direction and locked eyes with her.

The ravenette blushed and quickly averted her gaze to watch the road ahead.

'_Ah, he caught me staring! God, I hope that he doesn't think I'm weird or something._' she thought nervously.

"Hey Xion..." started the blond.

"Y-yeah?" the girl asked nervously, inwardly cursing the stutter in her voice.

'_Why does she sound nervous?_' the blond thought nervously before he shook it off. "Hey listen, there's this big festival coming up and-" Xion cut him off.

"Festival?" she asked curiously.

"Yeah, the people of Radiant Garden hold it every year on Halloween, everyone dresses up in costumes and they just dance and play games all night." explained the boy.

"That sounds like fun." she said as she looked at her friend.

"It is." he said with a nod. "I was looking forward to going with a few of my friends, but they all had other plans." he said with a depressed sigh. He scratched the back of his head and looked at the ravenette. "So I was wondering if you would want to go with me? That is, if you don't have any plans that is!" he said sheepishly.

'_Is he... Is he asking me out on a date?!_' Xion thought as her cheeks were beginning to glow a faint red. '_Okay, calm down! He probably didn't mean to be romantic or anything!_' she thought as she took a calming breath. She looked at the blond and gave him a bright smile. "Sure, I'd love to go to the festival with you!" she said excitedly.

"Thanks Xion! It's way more fun to go with a friend than going by yourself." he said with a shrug.

"I think so too." the girl said in agreement. "Now let's get going. Karly would probably kick our asses if we're late." she said with a giggle.

Roxas nodded in agreement and the duo quickened their pace.

**End Theme**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Later at the Central Square!<span>**

**Play BlazBlue OST- Flos**

The duo soon arrived at the city's Central Square and quickly found their friends sitting at a group of tables in front of a nearby restaurant.

But there were others with them as well.

Aeros, Ignis, Kokoro, and Aeros's blue-grey-haired younger sister Celia were standing at Karly's table, having a conversation of sorts. Standing behind Aeros looked to be a girl who had yet to be introduced.

"There they are! Let's get going." Roxas said as he looked at Xion.

The girl nodded in agreement and the two made their way towards the group.

It didn't take long for the duo to reach the restaurant and for Karly to notice them.

"There you guys are! And here I thought you two weren't going to show!" the brunette said after spotting the two.

"Sorry. It took us a while to get here." Roxas said sheepishly.

"What, were you two busy making out or something?" the girl asked with a cheeky grin on her face.

Both the blond and the ravenette blushed darkly at the accusation.

"W-w-we weren't doing th-that!" Xion stuttered out in embarrassment.

Karly laughed out loud at their reactions. "Geez you two. I was only kidding! Though now I'm getting suspicious. You two aren't doing anything inappropriate now, are you?" she asked with a smirk, causing the two to stutter and blush harder.

"Lay off those two. If they blush any harder then they'll be redder a tomato!" Lea said with a chuckle.

"Fine." the girl said backing off. "So what do ya got in those boxes?" she asked as she pointed to the small boxes in Xion's hands.

"Oh these?" Xion asked as she looked down at the boxes of pastries in her hands. "I got snacks for everyone! I hope you like them!" she said as she set the boxes onto the table.

Karly opened one of the boxes and was immediately hit with the delectable aroma of freshly baked cinnamon rolls.

"Those smell good." she said as she took a whiff of the cinnamon rolls.

"Help yourself! These are for all of my friends after all!" the ravenette said with a happy smile on her face.

Within moments everyone save Aeros, Ignis, Kokoro, Celia, and the unnamed girl, was munching on a freshly baked cinnamon roll, enjoying them greatly.

"These are great!" Kairi said while munching on her snack.

"I'm glad you liked them." Xion said happily.

"That's really nice of you, getting pastries for all of your friends." Celia said as she looked at the girl.

"Have we met?" the raven-haired girl asked as she looked at the much shorter girl.

"Oh, no, sorry! Let me introduce myself. My name is Celia Zoromaki. Nice to meet you!" Celia said politely with a smile as she extended her hand towards the taller girl.

"I'm Xion. And the feeling's mutual." Xion said as she shook the bluenette's hand.

"I don't know if you've already met, but this is my big brother, Aeros Zoromaki..." she pointedto Aeros. "The redhead's name is Ignis Bravehart. He's mine and Aeros's best friend..." she said as she pointed to Ignis. "And the girl with the mismatched eyes is another friend of ours named Kokoro Burū." she finished as she pointed to the Dhampir.

"Hello." the older brunet said politely.

"Nice to meet you!" the redhead said with a grin similar to the ones Sora gives.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." the heterochromatic girl said politely as she gave a small bow.

"I remember you three from the exam." the ravenette said as she looked at the three.

"That's right. We helped Karly during the second portion of it." Aeros said with a nod.

"Well it's nice to formally make your acquaintance!" the girl said with a smile.

Suddenly, there was the sound of someone clearing their throat.

"Um, Celia? Did you happen to forget about me?" the currently unnamed girl asked with her hands on her hips.

"Oops! Sorry..." the brunette said apologetically. "That's Kaya Argentum, Aeros's girlfriend." she said as she gestured towards the girl.

Kaya was a well-endowed girl around the age of seventeen with long, mid-back length silver hair and cyan colored eyes with cat-like pupils. She wore a white, long sleeved, midriff length jacket over an equally white halter top cut to expose her abdomen. She wore a mid-thigh length white skirt with black biker shorts underneath, and a pair of white, shin-length, heeled boots. Tied loosely around her neck was a cyan ribbon. Strapped to her waist was a katana with a white sheath.

"Howdy!" she said with a small wave.

"Hi." Xion said returning the gesture.

"Now that we're all introduced..." Karly said as she finished her cinnamon roll. "Let's get going! We were waiting on you and Roxy here for a while now." she said as she got up from her seat.

"Where are we going?" asked Roxas.

"Movie theater. They're having a Friday the Thirteenth movie marathon there and Myde was actually able to score tickets for all of us." Lea said with a casual shrug.

"Sounds cool." Roxas said with a grin, liking the idea.

"I don't think I saw Friday the Thirteenth. Is it any good?" Xion asked as she looked towards the older redhead.

"Good? It's a horror classic! Even if you don't get scared, then you'll laugh at how cheesy it is!" the man said excitedly.

"I guess I can go watch it." the ravenette said with a shrug.

"Great, let's get going!" Karly said as she stretched her arms over her head.

With that the group began to take their leave. Karly extended an offer for Aeros and his friends to join them, but they declined, stating that they had business to take care of. Ienzo declined as well, simply stating that he didn't wish to go.

For the rest of the day the misfit group of friends watched and enjoyed the movie marathon, laughing at the cheesy moments from the old movies, eating cheep junk food, and overall enjoying each other's company.

At one point during the marathon, Myde got scared when Lea suddenly grabbed him from behind, causing the musician to throw his bu kept of popcorn and soft drink into the air with a scream. The popcorn and drink landed all over him, getting him all sticky and obverse do in popcorn.

His friends laughed at the scene as he tried to clean himself off.

**Dmeyx Owned: 8**

**End Theme**

* * *

><p><span><strong>The next day!<strong>

**Play Persona 4 OST- Heartbeat, Heartbreak**

It was a nice and cool Monday morning where we find Karly, and Xion talking about the usual things.

"...And then I said, if you didn't want to get chased around town by Chocobo then why did you wear cologne that smells like Gysahl greens?" Karly said as she moved her arms around animatedly. "And that's what happened when I hung out with Demyx the other day." she said as she leaned back in her seat.

Xion busted out laughing. "No way, poor Demyx! That guy just doesn't get a break does he?" she asked as she tried, and failed, to stifle her giggling. (Nah, too easy.)

"Yeah, he's probably one of the most unluckiest people out there. It's almost as if some omnipotent force is using him for comedic relief." she said in thought before shrugging it off.

Xion was finally able to stop her giggling and looked at her friend. "So...?" she started in a curious tone. "How did your 'talk' with Damon go? You seemed like you really wanted to talk to him about something."

Karly simply shrugged. "It was fine. He's not as much of a jerk than I first thought." she said as she leaned on her desk with her elbows.

"That's nice." the ravenette said with a smile.

"But I'm still going to kick his ass one of these days." the brunette said while crossing her hands over her chest.

"Oh..." Xion said with a small sweatdrop. "What did you talk to him about anyways?" she asked curiously.

"I asked him if he could help me get stronger. With his help... I won't have to worry about losing again." she said with conviction shining in her eyes. "The only condition was that I had to work for him, so I joined the disciplinary committee." she said with a shrug.

A look of surprise appeared on the ravenette's face as she looked at her friend. After several silent moments she nodded in understanding. "That's good. I'm glad you asked him for help. Your mood's really improved in the last couple of weeks." she said with a smile. "So what are they like, the disciplinary committee I mean?" she asked curiously.

"Honestly? They're not as bad as everybody thinks they are. Those guys are actually pretty cool once you get to know them." she said to which Xion nodded in understanding. Remembering what the girl said about her mood, Karly looked back on her behavior for the past two or so weeks. "I guess my mood really has gotten better. Sorry about acting like a total B-word to you and the others." Karly said sheepishly.

"It's okay." Xion said waving it off. "Did you tell the others yet?" she asked curiously.

"Yeah, I told them all yesterday before you and Roxas showed up." the brunette said as she looked at her friend.

"Oh, okay." Xion said with a nod. "So did you start this training already?"

"No, not yet." the brunette said with a shake of her head. "Damon said that he won't be able to train me until next week because he, the rest of the student council, and the headmaster have a bunch of meetings with some of the people who fund this school, including the headmasters from some of our rival academies too." she said with a shrug. (Convenient)

"Rival academies?" the ravenette asked with an arched brow.

"Yeah, places like Balamb Garden, Galbadia Garden, Trabia Garden, DWMA, Honnōji Academy, Beacon Academy. Schools like that." Karly said as she counted off each school on her fingers.

"Whoa, I heard that those places are top of the line schools for their respective fields." Xion said in awe.

"Yep. Our school's still fairly new since it's less than a decade old. Anyways, I heard that the people who run those schools are a few of the backers for our school too." the brunette said as she looked at Xion.

"Really? I didn't know that. But I did hear a rumor that billionaires like Tony Stark and Bruce Wayne also fund this school too. Who else do you think could be backing our school?" Xion asked curiously.

Karly shrugged her shoulders, unsure herself. A comfortable silence descended upon the two as they waited for class to begin.

Several minutes later the homeroom teacher enters the classroom.

The teacher was a middle-aged man, with straight black hair in a bob-cut, hazel eyes, and buck teeth. He wore a dark navy suit with white lines, white collar long-sleeved shirt with a yellow-and-light orange checkered tie.

This man was known as Kinshiro Morooka, one of the teachers at Kingdom Hearts Academy. Though his student tend to call him King Moron behind his back.

"Alright, all of you sit down and shut up!" the man said rudely, causing everyone to quiet down. "We have ourselves several new students today so show some respect! Though I highly doubt that they'll get very far in life like the rest of you losers!" he said snidely.

'Ass-hole!' Karly thought with a scowl. She more often that not wondered why the school assigned this man to be their homeroom teacher.

"Alright, come inside already!" King Moron said with an air of impatience.

The door opened and three people entered the room.

"Wait, is that...?!" Xion asked in shock as her eyes widened.

Standing at the front of the room was none other than the boy she had met the previous morning, Yuki Fenrir!

Standing to either side of Yuki were two girls, neither of whom the ravenette recognized.

The first girl standing to Yuki's left was a cute looking catgirl of mixed caucasian and oriental descent who appeared to be around the age of fifteen with shoulder-length black hair that parted on the left with layered bangs and with one long tuft of hair hanging between her eyes. Said eyes were large, bright, emerald green orbs with cat-like pupils. Two black, cat-like ears sat atop her head, and two long, black, cat-like tails starting at the base of her spine, which swayed about lazily. She stood at 5'6" with high C-cup, borderline D-cup breasts, a lithe, slender figure, and long, strong legs built for running, jumping and any other type of athletic action. Her attire mostly consisted of a black wifebeater tank top with skintight black spandex shorts, over which she wore an elegant, mid-thigh-length dark blue kimono, and a pair of shin-length black boots. The sleeves of the kimono were long and easily covered her entire arms with wide openings at the ends. There were slits near the shoulders for her arms to slide in and out of the sleeves with ease.

The second girl to Yuki's right was a attractive young woman around the age of sixteen with nicely tanned skin, long, back-length, reddish-orange hair with streaks of yellow seen throughout its length, making it look as if her head was covered in fire. She had the most unique pair of eyes the students had ever seen. They were reddish-orange in color with wisps of yellow seen within them, also making them resemble fire. She was quite tall reaching a good 5'10" with an impressive D-cup bust, a slender waist, wide hips, and long, slender, legs. She wore a reddish-orange halter top, reddish-orange knee-length skirt with a yellow obi sash with a fire pattern along its length wrapped around her waist. She had white tabi socks, and heeled, Zōri slippers with red soles. Two separate, reddish-orange kimono-like sleeves with yellow licking the hems that somewhat resembled wings and a pair of fingerless, reddish-orange gloves and a pair of knee-length red socks to complete the outfit.

"Greetings I am Yuki Fenrir and these are my friends, Koneko Kurotora..." he said as he gestured to the catgirl standing to his left. "And Nova Phoenix." he said as he gestured to the red-haired girl on his right.

"It's nice to meet you all." the catgirl said politely as she gave the class a pretty smile.

"Hey there!" the fiery redhead said as she waved her hand to the class.

"Now that you three have been introduced, take your seats and shut up you little deadbeats!" Mr. Morooka said with a sneer.

Yuki frowned, but said nothing.

The Koneko's cat-like ears twitched atop her head and her smile became strained.

Nova on the other hand didn't stay quiet.

"Did you just insult us?" she asked feeling offended by the man's rude behavior.

"Talking back to the teacher? A troublemaker, I see! From now on the three of you are on my shit list!" the teacher said snidely.

Yuki let out a sigh while Nova and Koneko stared at the man incredulously.

"What did we do?!" the catgirl asked in disbelief. What did they do in the last three minutes to warrant such rude behavior?

"Hmph, the last thing I need right now is some low class grimalkin telling me how to run my class! Now take your seats so I can get class started!" King Moron said with a scowl.

A soft growl escaped the catgirl's lips but she did as the man said.

Yuki pulled his scarf up over his mouth to hide his scowl and moved to find a seat.

Nova threw the man a brief glare before taking a seat.

Yuki sat in the back-right of the class while Koneko sat in the seat immediately to his left.

Nova sat in the only seat that was left available, which was to the other side of Karly.

"Hey, don't worry about King Moron. He's just a miserable a-hole to everybody." the brunette whispered to the redhead. "I got on his shit list not five minutes into the class on my first day." she said with a shrug.

"How is this guy even a teacher?" Nova asked in disbelief. She thought all of the teachers in KHA were nice and reputable.

"Nobody knows." Karly said with a shrug. "Name's Karly, that starts with a K." she said as she extended a hand to the girl.

"Nova Phoenix." Nova said as she shook Karly's hand. "I look forward to getting to know you while I'm here." she said with a smile.

"Same." the brunette said with a smile.

Xion looked over the trio curiously, taking in their features closely. Her gaze lingered on Koneko a bit before finally resting upon Yuki.

'There's something about those three that I can't exactly place my finger on...' she thought before focusing back on the teacher and the class.

**End theme**

**Narrator: As our heroes enjoy their time with each other between classes, new faces appear to make life more interesting for everyone around them.**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Later that night!<span>**

**Narrator: But it seems more new faces are soon to appear...**

It was well after midnight and all of the townspeople were in their beds sleeping peacefully save for several of the castle guards who were patrolling around the city to make sure that everything was safe and sound.

But our focus lies not within the city, but outside of it.

Walking down the seemingly endless walkway that led towards the the Outer Gardens outside of the city walls was a strange young woman.

She was a fairly attractive young woman that appeared to be around sixteen or so with waist-length, snow-white hair flowing down her back like a curtain with a small light blue snowflake-shaped headpiece on the left side of her head. She had icy blue eyes with nearly indistinguishable blue pupils of a slightly darker color, and pale, nearly snow white, skin with rosy cheeks, pale, slightly blue lips, and small freckles. She stood at a good 5'0" and had a modest figure with C-cup breasts, an average waist size, wide hips, and long, creamy legs. Her attire consisted of an elegant, floor-length, light blue furisode-style kimono depicting a blizzard on it with long, draping sleeves, a baby blue obi sash with depictions of white snowflakes on it, white tabi socks, and geta sandals. Tied to her obi sash was a small lyre-like harp that was seemingly made of a crystal-like substance.

But the oddest thing about her was that she had an almost ethereal glow about her as the light of the moon shone down upon her.

She stopped in front of the gate that acted as the city's entrance and looked up at the large stone walls that surrounded the city.

"I'm finally here!" she said in a soft, almost ghostly quiet, tone. "Soon I'll be with you again my beloved!" she said as a beaming smile stretched across her lips.

**Narrator: Radiant Garden is going to get a lot more lively.**

**End of Chapter 11**

* * *

><p><span>Author's Notes<span>

Titano Man: And that brings an end to chapter 11!

Everyone: Yay!

Titano Man: Well this one certainly took me a while to do. I got stuck several times wondering where to take this chapter and even had to do a full revision! So I'll need a little more work before I can call myself adept in the slice of life format. But for now, show the teaser for the next chapter!

Teaser:

Xion: What's up with your brother?

Roxas: Well...

Damon: Okay Karly, say hello to my second in command!

?: Oh, I'm going to have so much fun with you!

Karly: Somebody's got a crush~!

Fujin: ...

Sora: I won't give up until I succeed in asking...!

?: My, this town is certainly a lively one!

**Narrator: Next time, Sora's Mission!**

Titano Man: So that's what you got to look forward to. I'll see you all next time. Also, if you haven't voted on my poll on what preview on an upcoming story you want to see next then be sure check it out and vote for the one you like. Only two chapters are left until the poll closes, so make sure to vote if you haven't done so already.

Koneko: Good bye everybody!

Titano Man: Are you kidding me?!

* * *

><p><span><strong>Edit<strong>: To those who were able to read the first version of this chapter before i took it down, you will notice the obvious changes. I didn't want to rush straight into a new conflict just yet so the next few chapters will have a slice of life format to them. I hope you enjoy. Thank you.


	12. Sora's Quest!

Titano Man: Hello there everybody! Sorry this took so long to get out. I took a really long break and life kept getting in the way. Plus Deadpool caused a couple of problems for me, don't ask. Anywho, with the summer season already well upon us I hope that I'll be able to write chapters without getting distracted, but I won't make any promises on when there will be updates. So without further ado, let's get this chapter started. Roll the disclaimer!

Yuki: Titano Man XIII does not own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, or Final Fantasy in general, Pokémon, or anything else that he decides to put into this story. The only thing he does own are all of the OCs that appear in this story with the exception of Shinryu Verus, who belongs to The Unknowing Herald.

Titano Man: On with the show!

* * *

><p><strong>Final Kingdom Arc 1: Kingdom Hearts Academy<strong>

**Play Bleach opening 4- Tonight, tonight, tonight by Beat Crusaders**

**Play Kingdom Hearts OST- A Walk In Andante**

**Narrator: The scene opened to show a bright and sunny Autumn day. The weather was partially cloudy and there was a subtle nip in the air. The people of Radiant Garden milled about doing their own thing. Either setting up decorations for the festival at the end of the month, going to work, or taking care of errands. But none of that is important right now. Instead, let us shift our focus towards a familiar trio of students that were currently making their way towards school.**

Roxas, along with his twin brother Sora, and their raven-haired lady-friend Xion, were walking down one of the city's many cobblestone streets, talking about whatever random topic that popped into their head.

Their current topic?

"I'm telling you, Goku would totally kick Superman's butt! That battle was so biased!" Roxas said as he argued with his brother.

I'll give you one guess...

"Get real Roxas! Superman is unstoppable! His power is virtually limitless! I mean, he can take down guys that can destroy the entire universe no problem!" Sora said smugly.

"Goku can pretty much do the same thing! And he's definitely beaten more universe busters than Supes!" retorted the blond.

"Yeah, but only after getting his butt handed to him over a dozen times." the brunet said with his arms crossed over his chest.

"At least that's more realistic than only struggling against someone for a few minutes before either pulling some cheap asspull at the last second or throwing his opponent into the sun like Superman does." countered Roxas.

"Superman does not do use cheap moves! And he's definitely lost a few fights too!" Sora said defensively.

"Name a few then. And don't say Doomsday or none of the other ones that aren't cannon either! They don't count." the blond boy said with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Well there was the... Uh, and the one with that guy..." the brown-haired teen said as he tried to recall several specific moments but came up with nothing.

"You got nothing do you." Roxas said making his question come out like a statement.

"Shut up!" Sora said indignantly.

Xion sighed in annoyance as she listened to the brothers bicker with each other. Their topic had started out innocently enough, talking about some of their favorite Death Battle matches and thinking up hypothetical fights for future episodes. But then somehow the topic of Goku vs Superman came up and the fraternal twins began to argue about it due to their differing views on the matter. That argument had started over ten minutes ago, and it was starting to get on her last nerve. (Note that I had written this scene before Screwattack aired the rematch.)

A couple more minutes of bickering passed before the boys turned their attention towards their raven-haired friend.

"Hey Xion, tell Sora that Goku can totally beat Superman in a fight!" Roxas said as he looked at the girl.

"To tell you guys the truth, I couldn't really care less about this than I already do." she said with a sigh.

"Oh, come on! This is important!" begged Sora.

"You guys can debate this whole topic until the world explodes, but it won't change a thing. The only outcome that would make any sense to me would be that they would both come to respect the strength of the other and end it in a tie. And that's just being neutral about it." said the girl. "Now let's just drop the subject and get on with our lives before I decide to do something I might regret later." she said with a sigh of exasperation.

"But-!" Sora tried to argue, only to be cut off by the ravenette.

"I said drop it!" she said as she glared at the boy.

Roxas tried to say something but immediately closed it when she turned her fierce gaze on him.

The trio then carried on in silence until they reached the town's Central Square.

As the passed by the gate that led to the castle, Sora stopped and looked at the marvelous building that towered over the entire city.

He stood there, watching castle for several moments before letting out an audible sigh.

Xion, seeing that the brunet had stopped, halted her movements and turned back to look at him.

"Sora, are you okay?" she asked in concern, only to receive no response from the brown-haired twin.

With a frown, she turned her gaze towards her blond friend. "What's up with your brother?" the ravenette asked with concern lacing her voice.

"Well..." Roxas started nervously as he glanced at his twin to see if he was listening. When he saw that Sora was off in his own little world, he continued. "To put it simply, Sora has the biggest crush on Kairi." he said as he scratched the back of his head.

"ORLY?!" Xion asked sarcastically with an exaggerated surprised expression on her face. "I had no idea, he hid it so well!" she replied with just as much sarcasm as before as she placed her hands on her hips while her facial expression changed to an 'are you serious?' face.

Roxas laughed nervously and continued his explanation. "Well anyways, ever since we moved here with our parents Sora's been trying to ask her out with not much success." he said with a shrug.

"I see. How long has he had this crush on her?" the girl asked as she held her chin.

"Ever since he was a little kid really." the boy said with a shrug.

"Really? But I thought Kairi and her sister always lived in Radiant Garden?" she asked in surprise.

"Actually they only moved here about a year ago. They lived on the islands with us since they were four years old." explained the blond.

"Okay, I guess that makes sense. But I want to know, does she like him back?" Xion asked curiously.

"Oh, definitely. We even had a betting pool to see which one would ask the other out first." replied the blond.

"Then what's stopping them?" the girl asked with a quirked brow.

"Well, that would be Naminé and Kairi's dad, Ansem." said the boy.

"Wait, as in Ansem the Wise?! Ruler of Radiant Garden? A great sage whose knowledge and wisdom are said to be second to none in all of Radiant Garden?! HE'S Kairi and Naminé's dad?!" Xion asked in disbelief. The gears began turning in her head as she started putting the pieces together. The conclusion she reached nearly caused her brain to force a complete systems reboot. "That mean's that Kairi and Naminé are the twin princesses I've been hearing about?!" Shock would be an understatement of the emotions the girl was feeling at the moment.

"Yep." was the blond's reply.

After a few moments, the girl was able to recompose herself. "So Ansem is keeping those two from getting together, huh?" the girl said as she looked up at the sky with a finger on her chin.

"Yeah... And as you can tell, my brother is understandably upset by the situation." the boy said with a helpless shrug.

Just then Sora let out a loud groan of frustration. "It's not fair!" he cried. "I want to ask her, but every time I work up the nerve, we get interrupted! If I can just get a couple of minutes alone with her, then I can finally ask her out!" he said as he slammed his right fist into his left palm.

"Well, if you want the opportunity to get a date, then I'm sure we can help you." Xion said supportively.

"Really?!" Sora asked with hope lighting his features.

"We're your friends Sora, we'd help you no matter the problem!" the ravenette said with a smile.

"Plus, I'm getting sick of seeing you mope around whenever your attempts at asking Kairi out doesn't work." Roxas added with a playful smirk.

A giant, goofy grin lit up Sora's face as he put his hands behind his head, closing his eyes in the process. When he opened again, they were engulfed in the fires of determination.

"From this moment onwards, I won't give up until I succeed in asking Kairi to be my girlfriend! THIS I SWEAR!" he cried out in conviction.

The chapter chose at that moment to finally show its title card. Roxas's voice called out the name as it appeared on the screen.

**Sora's Quest**

The scene then unfroze.

Roxas and Xion looked at the brunet in bemusement before they glanced at each other.

"Um, Sora..." Xion trailed off nervously.

"Huh, what is it?" the boy asked curiously.

"Your eyes are still on fire..." she said tentatively as she pointed at the boy's eyes.

It took the brown-haired twin a moment to notice that his eyes were indeed still on fire.

"Aaaahhhhhh! Putitoutputitoutputitout!" he cried as he ran off to find a nearby source of water.

The blond and the raven-haired girl let out tired sighs.

This was going to be harder than they thought.

**End Theme**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Later that day!<span>**

**Play Final Fantasy VII OST- Fort Condor**

Karly was standing on a large track field that sat behind the academy for members of the various athletic clubs to use during their clubs.

As one could guess, it was after school and at the moment the field was being used by them disciplinary committee for training, specifically breaking in the new recruits.

The new recruits stood in a line, shoulder to shoulder as the rest of the committee stood before them at the ready.

The recruits, like the rest of the committee, wore the uniform, which was only a navy blue jacket with the academy's crest on the left breast area. The only difference between the recruits and the rest of the members was that they did not have the red band around their right biceps denoting their membership of the disciplinary committee.

The brunette looked over the few recruits to either side of her and took in their features. Overall, most of them were pretty unremarkable with fairly average features. In fact the only one who stood out to her was a young man around her age that stood to her immediate left with spiky, jet-black hair and golden-amber eyes. The only reason he stood out to her was that he bared an uncanny resemblance to Sora.

He noticed her staring at him and a scowl appeared on his face.

"What are you looking at?" he said sourly.

"Nothing." she said with a shrug. "You just happen to look a lot like a friend of mine is all." she said as she looked back in front of her.

"Hn..." the boy grunted as he turned his gaze back in front of him.

"So why're you here?" the girl asked curiously.

"You don't need to know why I'm here." said the boy.

"Well, you don't have to be such an ass about it." Karly said with an annoyed frown as she looked at the black-haired boy through the corner of her eye. "What's your name anyway?" she asked curiously.

"It's Vanitas." said the boy.

The girl nodded with a hum as she filed the name away for later. She was about to ask another question when a loud voice sounded out.

"Alright, ya brats! The captain's coming so stand at attention!" a tall, serious looking young man. His deep baritone voice was enough to get everyone to stand at attention. Big was certainly an understatement for this man, while only the second biggest member of the committee, he was still an intimidating looking man. He had lightly tanned skin with a strong, thick build. In fact, he seemed to be made of all muscle, most of which seemed to be bigger than Karly's head! His face had broad, proud looking features, with his lips set to a natural scowl. His deep-set eyes with small, grey irises cast a fierce, piercing glare at every new recruit before him, causing many of them to shiver uncomfortably. He had brushed back dark brown hair, which gave him a sort of proper look. And finally, he wore the committee jacket with a red band on his right arm. The band had bronze linings and the kanji for 3 engraved in bronze.

"No need to scare the kids just yet man." the familiar voice of Damon Chaos chastised playfully as he walked into view while everyone save the new recruits saluted him. Nothing was different about his attire save for a red band lined with gold around his right arm. On it the kanji for 1 was engraved in gold, denoting his position as the captain. While he normally didn't wear it, he felt that he should have it on just as a formality when he greeted the new recruits.

"My apologies captain!" the man said with a small bow.

Damon gave a small sigh before carrying on what he was doing.

"Hello, and welcome to you first day of training! In order to be a part of the disciplinary committee you need to be strong in body, mind, and heart! There's no room here for slackers and idiots!" he paused for a moment as he looked over the lineup before him. "Speaking of which..." he trailed of as he turned his head towards his right side. "Shouldn't you be in line Almasy?" he asked as several committee members stepped aside to reveal a somewhat nervous looking Seifer.

"Why should I be up there with those losers!" the blond asked, putting up a tough act to hide his nervousness.

"Because you have yet to fully make up for your actions on the first day of classes." the third in command said firmly.

"Oh come on! Wasn't making me go through that stupid test enough?" the boy asked indignantly.

"Nope! 'Sides, Fuu's on desk duty and Rai has to do kitchen duty as punishment for causing trouble, and they were just your lackeys. You on the other hand will have to go back to basic training." Damon said with a shrug.

A look of pure, undisguised, fear appeared on Seifer's face upon hearing that.

"Like hell I'm going through that again! That crazy broad almost killed me!" he said as he backed up a bit.

"Aw, looks like someone missed me!" a feminine voice said in a playful tone from behind the boy.

Seifer stood ramrod straight, eyes wide with fear. Sweat dripped down his face rapidly as his skin paled several shades.

The figure giggled in amusement as they walked around the blond and into view.

The person that instilled so much fear into Seifer was an attractive young woman around the age of eighteen blonde hair that was slicked back and reached about jaw-length, with two long strands styled into a distinctive antennae-like appearance. Her eyes were a vivid green color and she had pink lips that were covered in a slightly darker shade of pink lipstick. She was very slim with an hourglass figure that other girls would kill for with large breasts, a slim waist, wide hips, long legs, and soft looking skin. Though she didn't appear to be that strong, her petite appearance belied her true strength. Her attire consisted of a yellow halter top with a light blue lightning bolt design on the front, a mid-thigh-length blue-jean skirt with black leggings underneath, shin-length, high-heeled, yellow boots with light blue linings and a light blue heels. Around her neck was a silver necklace with a thin silver chain and a small pendant that resembled a knife. She wore the disciplinary committee jacket with a red band around her right arm lined with silver and the kanji for 2 engraved in silver on it. She left the jacket open to show off her killer body.

"Are you disobeying a direct order from your captain?" the young woman asked in an innocent tone as she turned around to look at the blond.

"N-no ma'am! Not at all ma'am!" the teen said fearfully.

"Good!" the blonde said sounding pleased. "Now are you going to be a good boy and get in line with everyone else?" she asked in a sickeningly sweet tone.

Faster than anyone could see, Seifer was in line with the rest of the new recruits standing to Karly's immediate right.

A smug smirk of satisfaction appeared on the young woman's face as she looked at the terrified teen.

"About time you showed up." Damon said as he stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"Sorry, but a girl has to make herself look presentable, right?" she asked rhetorically.

"Whatever..." the captain said with a roll of his eyes. "Alright everyone, say hello to my second in command... Renela!" he said as he gestured to the blonde.

"Hi!" the young woman said cheerfully.

"For the next few weeks she'll be handling your basic training. Any questions?" he asked as he put his hands into his pockets.

"Uh yeah, why am I even here? Didn't you say that you were going to train me?" Karly asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Yes, I will train you. But part of the deal was that you join the disciplinary committee. And now that you're part of the committee, you have to go through basic training with the rest of the new recruits." the captain said with a shrug.

"I so don't this! I'm plenty strong already, so you can just skip having me go through this basic training stuff and go right to making me a top tier badass!" the brunette said with a haughty smirk.

"Is that so?" Damon asked with a raised brow. "Well if you think you don't need to train with the rest of the group then let's see how you do against a full member of the committee." the black-haired teen said before he turned his head to the side to look at the committee members around him. "Hey Goliath, bring Crusher over here! Karly wants to see if she can keep up with the big dogs!" he shouted into the crowd with a smirk on his face.

The sound of large heavy footsteps were heard coming towards the group of new recruits.

The crowd parted much like a curtain and a giant figure walked into view.

To say the figure was big was an understatement. They were downright massive! From the look of their build, the figure was clearly male, if his large, rippling muscles were anything to go by. He stood taller that anyone in the class, even the third in command! He was not particularly the most attractive looking man, his face was quite broad and flat, with thick dark brown hair and a beard. He had a flat nose which gave him a bit of an ursine appearance, making him look that much more intimidating. The only other feature to note was the short, muscular tale coming out of the back of his pants. His clothing was nothing remarkable, as well as the committee jacket. Even the band on his right arm was a plain red band with only the kanji for disciplinary committee engraved on it in black.

The behemoth stopped in front of Karly and looked down at her.

The girl looked up at the giant before her and instantly felt her resolve extinguish. '_That guy looks like he can snap me in half without even trying!_' she thought nervously as she tried to put on a brave face and glare at the man before her, despite the fact that she was sweating somewhat.

Karly opened her mouth to say something sassy to the giant only for a high pitched voice to cut her off before she could say anything.

"Hey! Don't move so suddenly! I almost fell off on the way here." the voice said as its owner climbed up the man's back and seat themselves on his shoulder.

The figure appeared to be very short, in fact, they looked to be the shortest person in the whole committee, if not the entire academy. The person was no bigger than that of a normal toddler. The small figure had a very child-like appearance with light blonde hair that was pulled into two pigtails, large, pointed, elf-like ears, large, youthful, brown eyes, a cute button nose, and chubby cheeks. They wore a simple white shirt, black knee-length pants, brown boots, and the committee jacket with the standard red band on the right arm, all fitted for their size. Over all the wee thing was adorably cute.

It currently wasn't apparent whether or not the small person was either male or female.

"Sorry..." the bear of a man said apologetically as he looked at the girl that sat on his shoulder, his deep, powerful voice sending shivers down Karly's spine.

"Karly, meet Crusher and Goliath! They're a Galka and a Lalafell from Vana'diel* and Eorzea*, respectively. Now be polite and say hello!" Damon said with a smirk as he looked at the clearly intimidated brunette.

"Hi..." the girl said nervously as she gave a small wave.

"Hi there!" the Lalafell said with a friendly smile. It's voice, while high pitched, definitely held a female lilt to it, thus confirming it to be a girl.

"Greetings..." the Galka man said with a nod.

"Karl's here thinks she's good enough to be a full time member without having to go through basic training. So Crusher, be a dear and give her a test to see if she has what it takes." the black-haired teen said with a friendly grin on his face. One could easily tell that he was going to thoroughly enjoy what was going to happen next.

"Is that all? Sure, I can do that!" the Lalafell girl said with a shrug before jumping off of the Galka's massive shoulder.

Karly blinked in bemusement as she looked down at the diminutive girl. "YOU'RE 'Crusher'?!" she asked in shock.

"Yeah, what about it?" 'Crusher' asked with her arms crossed over her face and her arms crossed over her chest.

"Well, with a name like that, I wasn't expecting you to be so... small." the much taller girl said as she held back her laughter, though a smirk was visible on her face.

A vein visibly bulged on the Lalafell's temple and a dangerous aura formed around her.

'_She's in for it now._' the Galka, Goliath, thought with a frown as he backed away from his partner.

"WHO'RE YOU CALLIN' SHRIMP, MIDGET, SQUIRT, GNOME, TODDLER, LITTLE ANKLE BITING BRAT?!" the Eorzean shouted enraged. "IF YOU THINK YOU'RE TOP SHIT, THEN SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT ROOKIE!" she said challengingly.

"Okay then squirt! But don't go crying when I wipe the floor with you!" the brunette said confidently as she popped her knuckle joints.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Five Minutes Later<span>**

Karly was know lying face down in a small crater, literally smoking from the brutal and one-sided beating she had received from the Crusher, twitching occasionally from the pain.

"Sorry about that. But my height happens to be one of my triggers. I'm seeing someone about it, but please, for your sake, don't mention it around me again." the Lalafell said looking genuinely sorry for what she did, her personality taking a complete one-eighty from what it was mere moments ago.

The taller girl gave a sound that sounded between a grunt of agreement and a groan of pain.

"Learned your lesson now? We don't call her the Crusher ironically." Damon said smugly as he crouched down in front of the downed girl.

Karly managed to lift her face from the dirt and sent a glare at the black-haired teen. "I. Hate. You!" she growled out before her face went back into the dirt.

The boy simply chuckled in amusement and patted her on the head.

A minute later the girl was back in line with the rest of the new recruits, still covered in dirt.

"Okay, as you just saw, we can't let just anybody join. We want the best of the best. People who want to do everything they can to help the people around them." Damon said as he paced before the group. "I'm not going to sugarcoat it or lie, this will not be easy at all. Most of you may end up hating us by the end of this, if you didn't already..." at this he directed a look at a certain brunette, which prompted her to give him a very rude hand gesture. "But when this is over, you will all be stronger, not just physically, but as people too! Of that, I can guarantee." he said as he stopped to face the group of new recruits. "So I wish you all the best of luck! Now if you excuse me, I have some very important meetings that I need to attend, so I will be leaving you all in the capable hands of my second in command, Renela." he said as he gestured towards said blonde.

"Wait, why can't you train us?!" Karly asked indignantly.

"Like I said, I got a lot to do today. So no complaining!" the head of the disciplinary committee said as he put his hands into his pockets.

"Lazy bastard..." the girl muttered under her breath.

"I heard that!" he said as he turned around. "Alright Renela, don't scar them for life too much, okay?" he asked as he began to walk away.

"No promises!" the woman said with a giggle.

"Alright, everybody back to your stations!" the black-haired teen called out to the rest of the committee.

"Yes captain!" the committee members called out as they saluted their captain.

It was now just Renela with the new recruits.

She simply stood there with a friendly smile on her face as the rest of the committee scattered to go about their duties.

It wasn't until everyone else was well out of earshot that her friendly smile turned cruel and a malicious glint appeared in her eyes.

"Alright maggots, listen up! Renela's about to teach you the pecking order! It goes: you! The dirt! The worms in the dirt! Renela's shit! Damon! Then Renela! Any questions?!" she asked rhetorically as she looked over the group before her.

One of the new recruits raised their hands. "Ugh, yeah. I-" the recruit was suddenly struck by a bolt of lightning and collapsed onto the ground twitching in pain.

"I said any questions?!" she asked with a smirk with her right index and middle finger pointed towards the poor recruit, electricity sparked from her hand occasionally.

The rest of the recruits rapidly shook their heads, wishing to avoid being electrocuted next.

"Good~! Then let's start!" the blonde said with a sadistic, pleased grin.

Karly had the distinct feeling that she was going to hate this... A lot.

**End Theme**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Meanwhile elsewhere!<span>**

The scene shifted to show a large room designed to look like a Japanese dojo, complete with bleachers for the spectators, futons for the combatants to sit on, and a large circular arena to hold various matches.

On the back wall were several weapon racks filled with various Japanese weapons, nunchaku to naginata and katanas. One rack was filled with several wooden bokken of various sizes and weight.

At the moment the arena was in use as two individuals clad in kendo gear stood across from each other with wooden swords in hand. The uniforms they wore were virtually identical in appearance, the only difference between the two was that one of them wore a band around their arm denoting them as the president of the kendo club.

Around them the other members of the kendo club were watching the match with excitement.

"So you think that you can take my place as captain of the kendo club?! Listen up new kid, you got moxie, but you're gonna need a lot more than that if you want to beat me! Only the strongest deserves to be called the president of the kendo club!" the president said as he pointed his bokken at his opponent.

The president's opponent said nothing and got into a basic kendo stance.

"Very well, I will put you in your place!" the president said as got into a basic kendo stance and signaled for the referee to begin the match.

The referee nodded and lifted his hand into the air. "Are both combatants ready?" he asked looking towards the two masked swordsman.

Both combatants nodded in confirmation.

"Alright then, fight fair, fight with honor, and fight with all your strength. Hajime!" the referee shouted as he threw his hand down.

The president wasted no time in launching his assault upon his opponent.

Said opponent easily blocked and dodged the flurry of attacks.

'_Ha! I already have him on the ropes! All he can do is block and dodge!_' the president thought arrogantly as he continued his assault.

This continued for several more moments before the club president's opponent exploited an opening in the president's stance and, with a quick swing of his bokken, knocked the president's sword out of his hands.

Before the president of the kendo club could react, his opponent swung his wooden sword and sent the man flying out of the arena and crashing into the wall.

The members of the kendo club gasped in shock at seeing their president being beaten so easily.

The referee snapped out of his shock and raised his hand into the air.

"The winner and new president of the kendo club is the challenger!" he said as he pointed to the masked swordsman who holstered his wooden sword to his right hip showing that he was left handed.

The members of the club applauded and congratulated the figure as he stepped off of the arena.

**Play Final Fantasy VIII OST- Balamb Garden**

As the figure approached a nearby bench he undid the fasteners on his mask and removed the helmet, revealing a head of wild, shoulder-length snow-white hair.

Yuki Fenrir sighed in a bored manner as he sat on the bench and set the helmet besides him.

'_That was far too easy. I thought I would have to work harder to reach the position of president, but apparently if you beat the leader of a club at their own game, then that makes you the new leader. Who even came up with a stupid idea like that?_' he thought as he watched several kendo club members bring the unconscious ex-president to the infirmary.

"That was certainly an impressive fight." a familiar voice said sounding impressed.

Yuki turned his head towards the source of the voice only to see the smirking face of Damon Chaos standing next to the bench.

"Yo!" the head of the disciplinary committee said as he gave the boy a two fingered salute.

'_Ask and you shall receive..._' Yuki thought as he simply blinked at the other boy.

"What? No, "Hey Damon! How've you been?" And here I thought we were friends Fenrir!" the black-haired young man said with a mock hurt expression.

"It's been a while Chaos. I was beginning to think you were dead." the white-haired boy said in a bored tone as he looked back towards the rest of the kendo club who were now practicing several basic katas.

"Glad to see that you still have your sunny usual disposition." Damon said with a blank look as he stared at the young swordsman.

The disciplinary committee captain then shrugged his shoulders and sat on the space next to Yuki on the bench.

"So how have things been since I left?" he asked casually as he eyed the boy from the corner of his eye.

"Things have certainly been... quieter since you left town." the young swordsman said with a shrug.

Damon couldn't help but smirk. "My, did you actually miss me Fenrir?" the black-haired teen asked, his crimson eyes alight with amusement.

A brief chuckle escaped Yuki's lips, though it sounded more like a scoff than anything else. "Hardly! I for one enjoyed the peace and quiet." he said as he looked at the head of the disciplinary committee with a ghost of a smirk on his lips.

"Ouch! You wound me so!" Damon said in an exaggerated manner as he held his chest.

Just then the door opened and the two girls Yuki transferred in with walked into the room, both of them wearing the outfits of different clubs.

The catgirl, Koneko, wore a skin hugging blue and white bodysuit with a small hole cut into the back for her tails to slip through. Over the suit she wore her kimono.

The redhead, Nova, wore a cooking apron stained with some flower over her clothes.

"Well I'll be damned! If it ain't Koneko and Nova!" Damon said as he looked at the two.

"Damon!" Koneko said happily as a smile appeared on her lips.

"You're here!" Nova said excitedly as she grinned at the teen.

Both girls then ran up to the duo and gave the disciplinary committee captain a hug.

"How've you been Damon?" Nova asked excitedly as she let go of the boy.

"Did you miss us?" Koneko asked as she let go as well.

"I've been doing well, more or less. Been keeping this school from falling into total anarchy. And yeah, I missed you girls." Damon said as he looked at the two with a smile. He then spied their uniforms. "Judging from the apron and the bodysuit, I can assume that you two joined a couple of clubs." he said as he looked at the two.

"Yep! I'm in the cooking club! You're looking at the next Iron Chef champion!" Nova said with a smirk. "Oh, and I made you some cinnamon rolls Yuki." she said as she pulled out a brown paper bag from... somewhere and held it out for the albino to take.

Within the blink of an eye, the white-haired boy snatched the bag from the red-head and helped himself to the confectionary sweets within, causing both girls to giggle.

"And I'm part of the gymnastics club. I don't mean to brag but, I'm pretty awesome at it!" the catgirl said with a smirk after she calmed down from her giggling fit.

"Cool, welcome to the family." he said with a nod. "So how are the guys back home?" he asked with an arched brow.

"Well, Elia still has her nose in a book as always." Nova said as she recalled what her friends had been up to.

"Iterra's still takes things too seriously." added Koneko.

"Ana still wraps herself around any man and/or woman she can get her coils on." the redhead said with a shrug.

"Mira went on tour with her band." Yuki said as he ate his cinnamon roll.

"Beatrice is still being adorable!" the ravenette said with a giggle.

"And Alexander is still... Well, you know." Nova said with a shrug.

"I figured as much." Damon said with a chuckle as he shook his head. "Speaking of friends, how's your little fan girl been Fenrir?" he asked as he looked at the albino.

Upon hearing that question Yuki ceased eating his cinnamon rolls and an annoyed look stretched itself across Koneko's face.

"Clingy as always." the boy said with a sigh.

"I see." the disciplinary head said thoughtfully.

"Nya, why'd you even bring her up anyways?!" the raven-haired catgirl asked in annoyance.

"I'm not entirely sure myself." the black-haired boy said with a shrug. "I just have this sort of gut feeling that something involving that girl might happen sooner or later." he said with a slight frown on his face as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"So you feel it as well." Yuki stated with his eyes closed closed as he finished his last cinnamon roll. "Ever since we came here, I've been having this building sense of dread. As if something bad might happen soon." he said as he opened his eyes.

"Come on guys, you're probably just being paranoid!" Nova said in a chipper tone as she waved off their concern with a grin. "There are like, a dozen countries between us and her. Besides, it's not like she can just walk up to someone and ask them for a ride." she said with a roll of her eyes.

"Perhaps you're right..." the white-haired boy said in agreement. 'But even so... I just can't shake this feeling. Just what are you up to...?' he thought worriedly as the feeling of dread did not diminish in the slightest.

**End Theme**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Later on, back with Karly<span>**

**Play Kingdom Hearts OST- Radiant Garden**

Our favorite brunette heroine had just gotten out from the intense tort- I mean training session with Renela.

She was tired, her body ached from the rigorous training, and she was covered in dirt.

Moment, all she wanted to do was go back home and take a nice, warm, relaxing bath.

As she walked down the busy streets, she spied a familiar head of short, steel-blue hair a little ways ahead of her.

Once she grew close enough, she saw that the person before her was indeed Fūjin.

The taciturn girl was hiding against a corner of a building, often peeking out to spy at something that currently wasn't in view.

Fuu peeked around the corner and stared at the current object of her attention.

Curious, Karly walked up to the girl and stood behind her. She leaned in close and spoke.

"What'cha doin'?" the brunette asked, causing the girl to jump.

Fūjin turned around and saw Karly standing behind her looking at her with a curious gaze.

"Just you." the crimson-eyed girl said with a sigh of relief.

"What do you mean "just me"? Is that any way to greet a fellow student?" the brunette said with a scowl as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Fuu simply gave the girl her standard deadpan stare before turning her attention to whatever she was looking at before.

"What are you even looking at that's so interesting anyways?" she asked in confusion as she moved to see what Fūjin was looking at.

Through the hustle and bustle of the street Karly's sight landed on a nearby café.

"Are you spying on that albino chick in the kimono?" the brunette asked with an arched brow as she looked at a white-haired girl wearing a rather formal looking kimono with a snow theme to it, who was enjoying a cup of tea.

The steel-blue-haired girl sigh and grabbed the relatively taller girl's chin and turned her head to the right, changing her target of focus.

She now saw the back of the head of a young man with somewhat spiky red hair that looked somewhat familiar to her.

He sat at a small table and looked as if he was speaking with someone sitting across from him.

It wasn't until the redhead turned to acknowledge an approaching waitress that Karly was able to see some of his face and recognize who she was looking at.

"Wait, is that Ignis?" she asked curiously.

"Ignis..." Fūjin said, as if testing the name on her tongue. "Ignis!" she said as she released what almost sounded like a love struck sigh from her lips. A light blush appeared on her cheeks and a tiny, nearly unnoticeable, smile played on her lips.

Karly looked down at the girl next to her and quickly pieced two and two together. An amused smirk appeared on her lips as she slightly stepped away from the smaller girl.

"Somebody's got a crush~!" she said in a singsong tone, making the steel-blue-haired girl look at her.

"Just fascination!" the shorter girl said sharply.

"Really?" she asked rhetorically, still using that singsong tone.

The smaller girl nodded sharply.

"Then why are you blushing?" the brunette asked with a quirked brow.

"Am not!" the crimson-eyed girl said defensively, despite the fact that a blush was firmly on display on her cheeks.

"Then how do you explain this?" the taller girl said as she pulled out a small compact mirror and showed Fuu her reflection.

Fūjin's blush increased tenfold as she saw how she looked in the small mirror. "..." she made an admittedly adorable little squeak and looked away in embarrassment. "Don't tell..." she demanded softly.

"Hey, don't worry. I won't tell anyone." Karly said with a friendly smile before it turned into a devious smirk. "Provided..." she deliberately trailed off, silently asking a question.

"W-what?" Fuu asked almost hesitantly. Why did she have the feeling that she wasn't going to like this.

"Provided you let me help you get a date with that guy." Karly said with a smile.

"What?!" the smaller girl asked in shock.

"What? You didn't think that I would make you do something for me, would you? I'm not that selfish!" the brunette with a roll of her eyes.

Fuu blushed once more as she looked down. She did think that. Once she got over that, Fūjin thought about the offer, weighing the pros and cons of letting the taller girl help. After a few moments of mental debating, she came to a conclusion.

"Thank you." she said while giving a small bow.

"No problem, though I'm afraid you might have some serious competition. That girl he's with, Celia I think, looks pretty into him too." Karly said as she pointed at the bluenette sitting across from the red-haired boy, laughing at a joke he must have told her.

Fūjin turned her gaze back to the café and spotted said girl. With a jealous, wrathful glare, she marked the girl as her rival.

The taller girl could practically hear the steel-blue-haired girl growling threateningly and decided to do something before her small friend...? Enemy...? Frenemy, did something rash.

"Come on Fuu! Let's go and think up way to get senpai to notice you!" Karly said cheerfully as she dragged the smaller girl away.

**End Theme**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Several days later!<span>**

**Play Kingdom Hearts OST- A Walk In Andante**

For the last few days Sora had been trying, and failing, to get alone long enough with Kairi to ask her to be his date for the approaching festival with very little luck. Every time he was able to get alone with the girl, something always came along to interrupt them. So at the moment he was understandably frustrated with the numerous failures that were staking up.

He was was currently sitting alone at one of the booths in the Seventh Heaven restaurant, twirling a pencil in his right hand as he wore a look of frustrated concentration on his face as he looked over a piece of paper with nearly illegible scrawl and scribbled out words all over it.

Just then Aerith walked by with a tray of food in her hands. As she passed the table, she saw the brunet scribble something on the paper before immediately scribbling over it.

Curious, the woman walked up behind him and looked over his shoulder to see what he was doing. Confusion lit her features upon seeing the nearly illegible scrawl on the paper.

With the desire to figure out why the brown-haired teen was so determined about something, she decided to ask.

"Are you alright Sora?" the woman asked with a small amount concern lacing her voice.

Sora jumped slightly at the familiar voice, not expecting someone to bother him.

He turned his head to the side and Aerith standing behind him.

"Oh, hey Aerith." the boy said as he scratched the back of his head. He then remembered that the woman asked him a question. "I'm fine, just trying to figure something out." he said as he looked back to the piece of paper he was working on.

"Figure what out?" asked the brunette.

"Uh, well... I've been trying to think of the best way to ask Kairi to be my date to the festival later on this month." he said as he leaned back in his seat with his arms crossed over his chest, a small frown of concentration on his face.

"You want relationship advice?" the woman asked with a quirked eyebrow.

Sora blushed and scratched the back of his head. "I guess..." he said sheepishly.

"Have you thought of just going up to her and asking her to be your date?" she asked as she tilted her head to the side.

"Of course I have! I would have done it already if I was able to." he said with a sigh.

"Well, what's been keeping you?" the pink-clad woman asked curiously.

"The two of us have never really been able to get a moment alone with each other long enough for me to ask her. And every time I try, we always get interrupted by something, usually it's her dad. I have a feeling that he doesn't particularly like me all that much." the boy said as he began to scribble something down onto the paper.

"Okay, I can understand that. But that doesn't exactly explain why you're here writing things down onto a piece of paper and then scribbling them out." Aerith said as she gestured towards the paper.

"I'm trying to think of a way to get Ansem out of the way long enough so I could ask Kairi to be my date for the festival." he said as he furiously scribbled out what he was writing.

"It's safe to assume that you've had no luck with that." the brunette woman said rather bluntly.

"What do you think?" the boy asked rhetorically.

"Well, I wish you a lot of luck. I hope that you'll be able to get the girl of your dreams!" Aerith said in a supportive manner.

"Thanks." Sora said with a thankful nod.

"Now I better get back to work. Tifa wouldn't like it if I let the orders pile up, or kept the costumes waiting." the brunette said with a giggle before she walked off to do her job.

She looked back to the boy only to see him crumple up the paper and band his head onto the table.

'_I hope things work out for him. Those two would make a really cute couple._' the woman thought as she walked off to deliver the orders.

**End Theme**

* * *

><p><strong><span>That night!<span>**

Naminé was on her bed drawing an image of the castle of Radiant Garden on her sketch pad. She was lying down on her stomach, kicking her legs through the air as her small, delicate hand dragged the crayon she was using across the page.

She was garbed in a knee-length, white nightdress, similar in appearance to her standard plain white dress.

She hummed softly as she drew, completely lost in her own little world.

So focused on the task was she, that she seemingly didn't notice her sister, Kairi, enter the with fluffy, white towels wrapped around both her body and her wet hair. The dampness of her skin was the only indication that she had just gotten out of the shower.

"Hey, sis. Enjoyed your shower?" the blonde asked absently as she continued working on her sketch.

"Yeah, it was just the thing I needed to relax after a long day!" the auburn-haired teen said with a smile as she stretched her arms over her head.

"That's good to hear." Naminé said as she reached for a different colored crayon and began drawing with it.

Kairi then pulled out the clothing she was going to wear for the night and undid her towel, letting it pool onto the floor around her feet. She quickly put on a light red tank top and a pair of black shorts and sat herself on her own bed on the other side of the room.

The bedroom the twins shared was like that of any bedroom shared by two siblings with differing personalities and interests. The room was basically divided in half by the door with Naminé living on the left side of the room while her sister took the right.

Naminé's side of the room was somewhat bare, with only the bare essentials, such as a birch wood dresser, several drawers made from birch, and her queen sized bed that had a white quilt and pillows, with a nightstand and lamp next to it. The walls on her side of the room were covered in a large number of her drawings from various points in her life.

Kairi's side of the room had a little more in it, such as drawers and shelves covered with photos and mementos of her childhood, a dresser made of mahogany, and a queen sized bed that had a light red quilt and pink pillows with a nightstand and lamp next to it. The walls on her side of the room were adorned with many pictures of herself with either her friends, or family.

The only thing the two shared was a single vanity across from the door.

The auburn-haired girl removed the towel from around her head and began drying her hair with it.

"So the big Halloween festival is going up." she said as she stopped drying her hair and grabbed a brush that sat on the bed next to her. "Got any ideas on who you want to go with you?" she asked as she brushed the knot out of her still wet locks.

"I'm not sure. I might just go by myself or something." the blonde said with a nonchalant shrug, still focusing on her drawing.

"Well that's not fun." Kairi said with a pout. "It'd be a lot more fun if someone was with you." she said as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Maybe I'll go with someone if they ask me." the artist said not caring whether she went with a date or not. "What about you? Do you have someone you want to go with?" she asked looking up from her sketch pad for the first time since her sister entered the room.

"Maybe..." the auburn-haired teen said with a light blush dusting her cheeks.

"I think I can figure out who." Naminé said with a teasing smirk on her face. She giggled as her sister's blush darkened slightly. "Why don't you just go and ask him?" she asked with a quirked brow.

"You know why..." the older twin said with a blank look on her face.

"Dad..." both girls said with a tired sigh.

"I know he means well enough... It's just that he tends to get in the way whenever it comes to my romantic life." Kairi said as she twirled a few strands of her drying hair with her fingers.

"Maybe you should just tell him to back off?" Naminé asked as she returned to her drawing.

"He's our dad! I don't want to come off as disrespectful or anything! Besides, you know how stubborn he can get sometimes. If he isn't obsessing over some experiment, he's going out his way to keep me single." the auburn-haired girl said with a sigh.

Naminé simply shrugged in a 'what can you do?' manner.

"If only I could get dad out of the way long enough, then I can finally ask Sora out." she said as she flopped onto her bed and laid on her back.

"Well if that's the case, then I can keep dad busy while you and Sora finally ask each other out." the blonde said idly as she finished her drawing. She wiped off the dust and held it away from her to admire it properly.

It looked really good if you asked her.

The young artist then got up from her bed, gathered up the crayons she was using and moved to put the away.

"You'll really do that for me? You're an awesome sister Naminé!" Kairi said appreciatively. "But what if dad asks where I am or if he suspects something? He always seems to know when Sora and I are alone together." she said worriedly as her eyes followed her blond twin.

"Don't worry Kairi. I know plenty of ways to keep dad distracted for a _long_ time." the blonde said with a reassuring smile on her face.

"Alright. I trust you to make things easier for me." said the auburn-haired girl.

"You have my word sis. Also, you shouldn't wait until after school to ask Sora out. I suggest you go talk to him during lunch tomorrow. And find someplace quiet too!" the artist replied with a grin. "Now let's get to bed. We still have classes tomorrow." she said as she slipped into her bed.

"Alright, I'll take your suggestion and find somewhere Sora and I can talk privately." the older twin said with a nod as she slipped under the covers of her own bed. "You know, sometimes you act just like Ienzo." she said as she looked over at her sibling.

"Not true! I'm way more sociable and pleasant to be around than him!" Naminé said with a pout on her face.

"More pleasant, yes. Sociable, not really. You barely talk to anyone who I'm not already friends with." the older of the twins said teasingly.

"Shut up Kairi!" the blonde said as she stuck her tongue out at her sister.

Kairi began to giggle at her sister's behavior and soon Naminé joined in as well.

Once their giggles subsided, they both reached over to turn off their lamps.

"Goodnight..." both twins said simultaneously as they turned their lamps off at the same time.

* * *

><p><strong><span>The next day!<span>**

Sora was walking down the hallways of the the academy towards the lunchroom to grab something to eat.

It was Taco Tuesday and he wanted to be sure to grab some food before a certain blue-skinned, pink-eyed, two-toned blue-haired girl and her two friends got there first.

The boy was just about to turn the corner to go down the hall leading to the lunchroom, when someone called out to him.

"Sora!" a familiar feminine voice called out from somewhere nearby.

The brunet turned his head and saw Kairi walking towards him with a smile on his face. And for some reason, a backlight shone behind the girl and an inexplicable wind was gently blowing her hair about around her. That combined with the fact that she was somehow moving in slow motion at that exact moment, made her have a heavenly appearance.

And like that, the moment was over. Kairi began moving at regular speed and the backlight and the wind turned out to have been caused by a small spotlight and fan being moved across the hall by a group of students.

Despite all of that though, Sora kept staring at the auburn-haired girl, completely oblivious to the fact that the blue-skinned girl he was trying to beat to the lunchroom walked by dragging a yellow-skinned girl with poofy, yellow streaked, orange hair and a lavender-skinned girl with light blue streaked, purple hair behind her by their arms behind her.

Kairi stopped in front of Sora and waved a hand in front of his face when she saw that he was still staring off into space. "Sora, hello~?" she said in a curious tone.

The boy quickly shook his head and snapped out of his trance.

"Hey Kairi, what's up?" he asked with his trademark grin.

The auburnette giggled and clasped her hands behind her back.

"Nothing much." she said with a shrug. "I just wanted to talk to you about something." she said with an almost unnoticeable blush on her cheeks.

"About what?" Sora asked curiously.

"Um... Not here." the girl said as she looked around.

She glanced down the hallway behind her and saw a familiar head of light blonde hair dart around the corner, out of sight.

"There're too many people around. So let's go someplace where people won't bother us." she said as she looked back to the boy with a smile.

"Um, sure." the brunet said with a nod.

The duo then walked off so they could find someplace private to talk.

* * *

><p><strong><span>A little later, at the greenhouse!<span>**

Several minutes later, the duo found themselves inside of the academy's greenhouse located next the school.

**Play Kingdom Hearts OST- A Walk in Andante**

They walked further into the building until they reached the large tree that grew in the heart of it.

The tree itself was a cherry blossom tree, which was not very common in the region where Radiant Garden was. The only types of trees that were in the area of the city were usually birch, oak, or pine trees.

Kairi stopped walking and sat down on a bench that sat under the tree.

She beckoned Sora to sit with her, and he did, though with some nervousness.

"What did you want to talk about?" the boy asked curiously.

"We never get to hang out that often." the auburn-haired princess said with a small smile as she looked at her childhood friend.

"What are you talking about? We hang out all the time." the brunet said in confusion.

"I meant just you and me, without all of our friends around." she corrected softly.

"Oh." the boy said in realization. "So what do you wanna do?" he asked as he looked at her.

"I just want to talk for a little while is all." the girl said as she leaned back on the bench.

"Okay, about what?" he asked curiously.

"Anything really. I just want to talk." Kairi said with a shrug.

"Okay." the boy said with a nod.

The two began to talk about whatever little topic that popped into their heads. It started off slightly awkward as they tried to find a topic to latch onto, but soon enough the flow of their conversations became more natural and they talked, joked, and laughed like the dear friends that they were.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Meanwhile behind a nearby set of bushes!<span>**

"What are they doing?" Karly asked as she tried to peak out from behind Roxas, Riku, and Naminé.

"They're just talking." Riku said as he held several branches to his face in an attempt to camouflage himself.

"That's it? I thought that they wanted to ask each other out?" the brunette asked curiously.

"Well, it's likely that they're trying to get comfortable enough so that when one asks, the question won't cause any awkwardness or scare the other away." Lea said as he popped up next to the girl.

"Isn't this so romantic?!" Myde said in a soft but excited voice. "We finally get to see to lifelong friends take the next step in their relationship!" he said as he wiped a tear from his eye.

"Do you want to get us caught?!" Ventus whisper/yelled as he clamped his hand over the musician's mouth.

"I don't know..." Xion said with uncertainty. "Shouldn't we respect their wish for privacy and leave them alone?" she asked as she looked at her friends.

Naminé looked at her with a blank look on her face. "My twin sister wants to enter a relationship with someone who, while endearing and can be a great friend, is also a bit of an idiot. I don't want a single thing going wrong during this!" she said in a calm, yet oddly frightening tone.

Xion, no longer wishing to be under the blonde's intense stare, shimmied over towards Roxas and moved to somewhat use him as a shield.

"Say, didn't you say that you would distract her dad with something?" Roxas asked curiously as he looked at the artist.

"Don't worry, I have that covered." she said with a mischievous smile that looked out of place on her naturally gentle looking face.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Meanwhile at the castle of Radiant Garden!<span>**

Ansem the Wise, ruler of Radiant Garden, and proud father of two beautiful girls was currently at his wits end.

All afternoon, he and his guards have been trying to apprehend a strange creature that had suddenly appeared in the castle.

It had cause untold chaos since its sudden appearance. It had backed up the castle's plumbing, glued most of the furniture to the ceilings or walls, and oddly enough, stole everyone's left shoe.

The creature had been nothing but a headache for him and he hoped that his guards would capture the little beast before his darling daughters got home from school.

Just then a small object landed in front of the man.

It was the creature!

Upon closer inspection, it was a small blue, koala-like creature with big black eyes, a tuft of hair on top of its head, a short tail on its rear, indigo designed spots on both its back and the back of its head, sharp indigo claws on each paw, sharp, white teeth, rabbit/bat-like ears, a round purple nose, a long pink tongue, and aqua circles around its eyes and belly and dog's feet.

Before the he could react the creature pulled a pie out from behind its back and threw it at his face.

The creature laughed in amusement before curling up into a ball and rolling away.

Ansem sighed as he began to wipe the pie off of his face. He really hoped this would be resolved soon.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Back with the group!<span>**

"I managed to call in a couple of favors." Naminé said, smile still in place on her face.

Unnerved by her uncharacteristic behavior, the others slightly nudged themselves away from her.

"Hey, what are they saying now?" Karly asked as she pointed at the hopeful couple they were spyi- I mean observing... Yeah...

**End Theme**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Back with Sora and Kairi!<span>**

"Really?! I know I shouldn't laugh but, that's so funny! Poor Roxas!" Kairi said as she tried to suppress the giggling fit she was having.

Sora had just told a particularly funny story about how a Chocobo had mistaken his brother for another of its kind, which caused it to attempt to court the boy, which caused said boy to freak out, which caused a hilarious chase that lasted well over an hour.

"Yeah, that's why he won't get anywhere near another Chocobo." Sora said chuckling as well.

Thinking that now was the right time, Kairi decided to change the subject.

**Play Kingdom Hearts II OST- Kairi**

"Say Sora?" she asked softly after she had calmed down.

"Yeah?" the boy asked as he looked at his friend.

"You know, there's a festival coming up this Halloween. And I was wondering if you were going to go." she said in a curious tone with a small degree of shyness to it.

"Uh yeah, I am." he said with a nod. A small blush began to creep onto his face at the thought.

"I see. Do you plan to go with anyone?" the auburnette asked looking curious on the outside, but on the inside, her was very nervous about the whole situation.

"Yeah, I do." was all he said before he started asking the questions. "What about you? Do you plan on going? And are you going to go with anyone too?" he asked as he crossed his arms over his chest and arched an eyebrow.

"It doesn't really matter since my dad will make me go regardless." the girl said with a shrug. "But there is someone I want to meet there." she said with a small smile on her face.

"And who would that be?" he asked anxiously.

"You probably know him. He's kind, sweet, friendly, a little dense at times, but is an all around good guy. He can make anyone laugh, or feel better when they're feeling down. And it's easy for him to earn everyone's trust." she said with a happy expression on her face. "He always knows how to make me feel comfortable, and it's never hard for him to make me laugh. He isn't without his faults, but I wouldn't have him any other way. He's my best friend!" She said with a grin.

"Sounds like a great guy." the brunet said while trying not to let any jealousy slip into his voice.

"You should know!" she said with a giggle.

"I should?" the boy asked in confusion.

"Yes, because he's you silly!" she said as she tried to keep herself laughing.

"Really?!" he asked looking surprised. Now that he thought about it, the whole best friend comment should have tipped him off.

"Of course. I always have so much fun whenever I'm around you. I would really like it if you would go with me." she said as she averted her gaze from Sora and down towards her lap with a small smile stretching across her lips and a blush coloring her face.

"I would like that too." He said as he looked off to the side with a small smile on his face and a light blush coloring his cheeks as he scratched the back of his head. (Now I suddenly want to see someone do fan art of this scene.)

"Then I think you should ask me properly." she said cheekily as she looked at his through the corner of her eye.

"Uh, well then... Kairi, do you want to go with me to the festival this Halloween?" the brunet asked with his trademark grin.

"I would love too!" the auburnette said happily. Her expression could not be any brighter than it already was. She was finally going to go out with the guy she has had a crush on since she could remember.

Sora's thoughts practically mirrored her own. In fact, his grin could not possibly get any bigger than it was.

"Well, I think that we should get going. Lunch is going to end soon and I don't want to be late for class." Kairi said as she stood up from her seat on the bench.

Sora followed her up with a nod.

"Also, I need to have a little talk with my darling little sister about her spying habit." the girl replied with a closed-eyed smile, though this smile held no warmth to it and seemed to have a sadistic edge to it.

Suddenly a small, almost inaudible, frightened squeak emanated from a set of nearby bushes and Sora suddenly felt sorry for the introverted blonde.

"And maybe I should talk to the rest of our friends about it too." she said just as coldly as several audible squeaks and gulps emanated from those same bushes.

The boy's pity then extended to the rest of his friends and brother as well.

Just as quickly as it left, the warmth returned to Kairi's expression and she took the boy's hand.

"Let's go Sora! We can talk about what time we should go to the festival." she said as she pulled her friend out of the greenhouse.

Meanwhile behind the bushes Roxas, Naminé, and the others were frozen in place in a mixture of shock and fear.

"How did she know we were here?!" Myde asked nervously as he looked at the others.

"She always knew whenever I was spying on her. She must have assumed that all of you were with me too." Naminé said fearfully as her body trembled, her already pale skin white as paper.

"Are you okay Naminé?" Xion asked in concern after seeing her friend's reaction.

"I'm fine... Let's just get out of here before my sister decides that I did something else to upset her." the blonde said softly as she stood up stiffly and started walking out of the greenhouse at a brisk pace.

The others followed after her, unsettled by her change in behavior.

**End Theme**

* * *

><p><strong><span>The next day!<span>**

The next morning Kairi and Naminé were making their way towards the academy.

Kairi was walking along with a skip in her step while humming a happy little melody.

Naminé on the other hand looked like a hollow shell of herself and walked with slow, dragging steps, a black cloud of depression practically hanging over over her head, pouring a sea of rain all over her.

As luck would have it, the twins bumped into none other than Karly.

"Hay Karly!" the auburn-haired girl said in a peppy manner.

"Oh, hey Kairi. Sorry about yesterday." the brunette said as she scratched the back of her head nervously.

"Oh, it's okay. Naminé said that she talked all of you into helping her spy on me." the cheerful girl said waving her friend's apology off.

Karly sighed in relief. "That's a relief." She then noticed the depressed looking blonde. "What's with her?" she asked while pointing at said girl.

Kairi looked at her sister and simply giggled. "Oh, all I did was confiscate all of her art supplies and had them locked up for the next two weeks." she said with a shrug.

"How much longer until art class...?" the depressed girl asked as she hugged her trembling body.

Karly looked at the auburnette questioningly, to which the only reply was that Naminé was going through art withdrawal.

"You still have until 7th period, Nami." said the older twin.

The younger sister's eyes widened in horror. "NOOOOOOOOO!" she cried in despair as she fell to her knees and wept anime tears.

Kairi simply rolled her eyes. "Oh, get over it. Now let's get going before we're late!" she said as she wrapped her arms around her sister's waist and started dragging her down the street. "See you later Karly!" the girl said just as cheerfully as she did when she greeted her friend and took her leave, dragging her limp-bodied younger twin along the way.

Karly simply waved them goodbye before she simply shook her head and sighed. Sometimes her friends were total weirdos.

**Narrator: Another peaceful day has passed for our heroes as they grow closer together and prepare to have fun at the upcoming festival. But a subtle chill is beginning to nip at the nose of Radiant Garden, leaving a foreboding feeling nestled in the guts of the disciplinary captain and one of the new exchange students. What new adventures will the next day bring? Find out next time on Kingdom Hearts Academy!**

**End of chapter 12**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Author's Notes<span>**

1:Vana'diel- The world of Final Fantasy XI

2:Eorzea- The world of Final Fantasy XIV and A Realm Reborn

Titano Man: Oh my god, this chapter was atrociously late! This is inexcusable! I blame Deadpool for this! So I apologize to all of my readers and thank you for waiting so patiently for this. I was stuck for quite some time figuring out what to do for this one. More than once I had it take a sort of action chapter more than a slice of life and I had to change it. But I'm fairly confident that I did well with this one. Now this is you last notice on the poll I have open. Next chapter is the end, so please use this time to vote on which upcoming story that I plan to write in the future that you all want to see a sneak peak of. Here's the list once more.

**Poll #1**

Question: **Which upcoming story do you want to see a sneak peek of first? These will only be sneak peaks for stories that will come later down the line. The full summaries for each are on my profile page. Please choose one and the results will be shown when the polls closes. The choices are...**

**1. Super Smash Brother Unlimited (Classic Mode)**

**2. Super Smash Brothers Unlimited (Story Mode)**

**3. Pokémon: Road to Victory**

**4. We're All Out of Nothing!**

**5. Naruto: Hero of Light, or Demon of Darkness?**

**Please choose the one you want to read the most.**

Titano Man: Now with that done, let's roll the teaser for the next chapter!

Teaser:

Shin: You haven't been quite yourself lately Terra.

Terra: There's nothing to worry about. I'm fine!

Xion: You sell masks?

?: Yes I do. Do you wish to buy one?

Karly: How can this get any worse?!

Damon: And you just invoked Murphy's Law

**Narrator: Next time on Kingdom Hearts Academy, Mask Mayhem!**

?: You shouldn't have done that.

Titano Man: So with that I shall bid you all adieu! Until next time, this has been Titano Man XIII signing off! Stay awesome!

Nova: See you Next time!

Titano Man: You know what, I give up! Come right on in! *walks away muttering*


	13. Mischief Night

Titano Man: Hello there everybody! It's good to see you all again. I'm sure that you all excited to read the chapter, so I'm not going to blather on and on here and give you all what you want.

Xion: wait, doesn't this chapter mark the end of the poll?

Titano Man: Yeah, and?

Shin: I think they all want to see the results of the poll and see which story you're going to preview.

Titano Man: Oh yeah, I still had that going on.

Sora: Well?

Titano Man: Wait, right now?!

Everyone nods their heads.

Titano Man: Fine, fine. Alright everybody, the winner of the poll is... *whispers* Can I get a drumroll please?

*cue drumroll*

Titano Man: ...going to be revealed at the end of the chapter!

Karly: Dick move man.

Titano Man: My poll, my rules! Now, be a dear and roll the disclaimer.

Karly: Ass... *clears throat* Titano Man XIII does not own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, or Final Fantasy in general, Pokémon, or anything else that he decides to put into this story. The only thing he does own are all of the OCs that appear in this story with the exception of Shinryu Verus, who belongs to The Unknowing Herald.

Titano Man: On with the show!

* * *

><p><strong>Final Kingdom Arc 1 Kingdom Hearts Academy<strong>

**Play Bleach opening 4- Tonight, tonight, tonight by Beat Crusaders**

**Play Final Fantasy VI OST- Kids Run Through the City**

The scene opened to show a small apartment not too far from the commercial district of Radiant Garden.

The home had a quaint and warm aura to it, filled with modest, well used furniture, and soft, earthy color palette.

But the main focus was the single bedroom of the small apartment.

The room had an aesthetic that was fit for a young woman that had a girly personality. Walls were colored a soft, pastel pink while the furniture were made of sturdy oak. The bed was a very soft and comfortable looking queen sized bed that was covered by a thick red quilt.

All throughout the room, placed along several shelves and tables were various pictures and a large collection of plush toys, each ranging from classic teddy bears, to Chocobos, and even Behemoths. But the most prominent plush in the room was the large, stuffed Moogle doll that sat on the center of the bed.

The doll itself appeared to be old and somewhat worn, as if someone had owned it throughout their entire life and had shown a great amount of love to it.

Just then none other than Terra Branford entered the room, clad in a pair of light red, form fitting pajamas with the top cut to expose her midriff. There chibi Moogles dressed in various job classes printed all over them. Her hair was set free from its usual ponytail and the natural curls of her emerald colored tresses blanketed her shoulders. (Think Ryūko Matoi's pajamas. Now I have the mental image of a sleepy looking chibi Terra in this outfit. And it is adorable.)

She gave a tired yawn and stretched her arms over her head.

"Boy, am I tired!" she said as she let her arms drop to her sides. "Stardust? Where are you?" she asked as she looked around the room.

There was some movement coming from the Moogle doll for a moment before the small white Chocobo chick flew out from behind the doll and fluttered towards her mother.

"There you are girl! Are you ready for bed?" she asked in a motherly tone as a loving smile graced her beautiful face.

The small chick gave a happy little cry and flitted around Terra's head for a few moments before landing on top of it and settling down.

The young mage giggled happily at the chicks actions before giving out another yawn.

"It certainly has been a long day. I really need to get some sleep." she said as she once again stretched her arms over her head and arched her back enough for her ample bosom to bounce slightly at the action.

She then walked over to her bed and sat on the edge of it.

Letting out a sigh of relief at finally being off of her feet.

She stretched out her legs and made sure to curl her toes a couple of times before she pulled her legs up onto the bed and shifted her weight to somewhat sit on her side. She leaned on her elbow so her arm would support the weight of her upper body and keep it off of the bed.

Stardust took that moment to flutter off of her mother's head and land on the bed next to her.

The girl then looked over to the nightstand next to her bed and saw a couple of the pictures that were on top of it.

There were three in total, one was with Terra and Xion, looking at the camera and making silly faces. The second was of her and Shin. They were both at the Chocobo ranch with Stardust flitting about around them while the two of them were laughing. And the third was of a younger looking Terra standing between two other people, whose faces were hidden by the glare of the light, with a happy smile on her cute face.

With her only free hand, she reached out and grabbed the third picture. She brought it up to her face and looked at the image, unmarried by any glare of the light.

The picture depicted Terra standing between two people, a man and a woman, each with a hand on the girl's shoulder and smiling at the camera. The man was a tall and very buff looking with a grayish-tangelo skin tone and sea-greenish-gray hair pulled up into a ponytail. His dark violet eyes shone with strength and power. The woman looked like an older version of Terra, only with long, sandy blonde locks and warm, honey-brown eyes.

Terra smiled longingly at the image as stared at the two individuals that stood next to her in the photo.

'Mom, dad, I miss you both so much! I wish I can see you both again soon.' the mage thought as she let out a soft sigh.

She stared at the picture for a little while longer, wishing that she could go and visit the two back on her home world and just spend the day with them. Then a thought suddenly struck her. What if she invited them to attend the upcoming festival with her? Then she can finally spend some quality time with her parents after all of these months away from them. It was perfect!

"Yeah! I'll invite them over for the festival and then I'll be able to spend the day with them!" she cried out excitedly. She placed the picture back onto the nightstand and sat up on her bed. "I'll even cover the expenses for the trip! Nothing's too good for my folks!" she said as her eyes practically glowed in determination.

Stardust chirped in cheer, caught up in her mother's exuberance.

"So it's settled then! Tomorrow I'll get the money I've been saving up and buy them first class tickets to Radiant Garden!" she said in determination as she shot up off her bed and stood firm with her right hand clenched in a resolute fist.

**End Theme**

Suddenly her vision started to become blurry and she felt her head begin to ache.

"Ugh, not another headache!" she ground as she brought a hand up to clutch at her head, which was now beginning to pound with pain. 'These headaches have been happening a lot more frequently lately. Maybe I should go see someone about this soon.' she thought as she held her aching skull.

Just then another white-hot lance of pain shot through her brain, causing her to let out a loud groan of discomfort.

Stardust gave a concerned, questioning wark, worried about her mother's sudden change in demeanor.

"Mommy's okay sweetie. She just has a really bad headache, nothing to worry about! A couple of painkillers and a good night's sleep will fix me right up!" the green-haired girl groaned out as she forced an obviously pain laced smile onto her face in an attempt to reassure the small bird.

The small white Chocobo let out another worried trill as she watched her mother stagger out of her room and towards the bathroom.

The girl soon entered the bathroom and opened up the medicine cabinet.

"Where is it?" she asked as she searched for the bottle containing what she needed. She quickly found what she was looking for and pulled it out just before she let out a hiss as another wave of pain hit her skull.

Terra quickly opened the small container filled with pills and downed a couple of painkillers.

Almost immediately, a powerful wave of pain, worse than any that came before it, shot through her, causing her to cry out as she clutched her head with both of her hands.

Her eyes were screwed shut and she breathed raggedly as she tried to ride out this current onslaught of pain.

What the girl didn't notice however, were the small currents of electricity that were currently arcing off of her body.

The pain soon passed as the painkillers finally kicked in, making the electricity that was coming off of her die down and disappear as well.

She finally opened her eyes and looked herself in the mirror.

Her skin was much paler and she was breathing heavily with sweat pouring down her face. Her night clothes were disheveled and her hair was a complete mess. She felt extremely tired after the intense headache she had just went through. As such, she didn't even have the will to fix herself up.

The girl staggered back into her bedroom and collapsed onto her bed, nearly landing on Stardust in the process.

Luckily the small chick flew out of the way in time and fluttered over her exhausted looking mother.

Terra gave a slurred apology to the baby Chocobo and tried to pet the airborne bird. Her attempt failed however when her arm flopped uselessly onto the bed, feeling as though it was made of solid lead.

Stardust landed on in the bed in front of her mother's face and nuzzled her comfortingly.

The girl cooed softly at the affectionate gesture and gave a weak smile.

"Go on off to your bed, okay? Mommy's gonna turn off the light." she muttered weakly as she looked at the small bird.

The chick gave a small kweh and flew up to the small little nest that Terra had set up for her next to the bed. She landed on her nest and settled in before looking towards her mother as she dragged herself further onto the bed and flopped down face-first onto one of her soft, fluffy pillows.

The mage moved over enough so she could reach the lamp next to her bed and turn it off, casting the room into complete darkness.

The bed shifted a little more before the girl finally settled down.

"Good night... Star...dust..." she muttered sleepily as she drifted off.

Soon only the sound of soft snores were heard throughout the room.

Stardust stared at the spot where she knew her mother slept and gave a soft trill before she too drifted off into the world of sleep.

* * *

><p><span><strong>The next day!<strong>

**Play Kingdom Hearts OST- A Walk in Andante**

**Narrator: It was a wonderful October morning and everyone was out and about, setting up for the festival that was to be held in only a week's time. Because of this, the whole city was feeling the Halloween spirit! Even the the royal family is getting into it by decorating the castle both inside and out. There were even rumors going around that the king of Halloween himself, Jack Skellington, was helping plan the festivities. Yes, everyone was feeling the Halloween spirit, especially our favorite ravenette Xion.**

Xion was seen taking a short morning jog through the town.

She had recently started going out on jogs and hitting the gym every so often in order to keep herself in shape.

Having freshly baked goods from the café she lived on top of every day for breakfast wasn't exactly the healthiest thing to do after all.

The girl had been jogging for for the better part of an hour now and had worked up a nice sweat. When she reached Radiant Garden's Marketplace, she decided to take a short break so she could catch her breath.

"Man, who knew keeping in shape could be so exhausting?" she asked to no one in particular as she wiped the sweat off of her brow.

The girl then noticed that there was a small convenience store nearby that was run by a Moogle.

Feeling the need to get something to drink, she made her way over and bought a bottle of water.

**Received water!**

Xion quickly drank her fill and let out a sigh of relief, feeling the refreshing liquid restore some of her energy and vitality.

After capping the bottle she it aside and let out a sigh as she looked up into the sky.

'The festival's going to happen soon. Karly mentioned something about everyone going in costume since it's going to be on Halloween. I want to get a costume too, but I have no clue on what to even go as.' she thought as she hummed in thought.

The ravenette went to sit on a nearby bench as she thought more on what she basically wanted to be for Halloween. She was so focused on her line of thought that she didn't notice someone stop in front of her.

"Thinking deeply about something important young lady?" the figure asked politely, knocking the girl from her concentration.

Surprised by the disturbance, Xion looked up at the person standing in front of her, only to jump slightly at the sight of that person looking at her with an eerie smile stretched upon their features.

The figure was actually a man that was quite odd in appearance. He had well groomed red hair, pointy elf-like ears, and beady red eyes, though they could not be seen because they were very squinted, almost appearing to be closed. Though the most defining feature he had was that unsettling grin on his face. He wore a purple tunic over a pair of purple tights, an open purple vest with a golden mantle, golden bracers, and purple shoes with curled toes. On his back was a large travel pack that was covered in a large number of odd looking masks.

The scene froze and the title card appeared with Shin's voice reading it over.

**Mischief Night!**

The scene then restarted.

"May I help you?" the girl asked after she was able to regain some of her composure, though she still felt very creeped out by the man's large smile.

"Oh I'm dreadfully sorry for bothering you. You see I was just passing by when I noticed that you looked quite troubled by something, so I thought that I would come over and see if I could help." she man said with his hands clasped in front of him, though that grin remained in placed.

"Oh well, I was just thinking about what kind of costume I wanted to wear for an upcoming festival that's going to happen this Halloween." the ravenette said, not entirely sure why she would say all of this to a total stranger. Especially one that unnerved her this much.

"A costume you say!" the red-haired man said excitedly as he held his chin. "Well why didn't you just say so?!" he said as he slouched over and clasped his hands in front of him again.

"Um... I just did." the girl said softly but it looked like the man didn't hear her.

"Well you are in luck young lady! I just so happen to be a travelling salesman who sells masks that can bring great happiness to people!" the salesman said as he gave a polite bow.

"So you're some sort of Happy Mask Salesman?" Xion asked with a quirked brow.

"That is what I'm usually referred to as, yes. Now if you want, I can show you my collection of masks and costumes that I had procured over my travels. I'll even let you have another costume for free with your first purchase." the Happy Mask Salesman suggested as he looked at the girl with a grin.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to look." the girl said with a shrug. Though it was against her better judgement, she figured she could at least check out the traveller's wares, especially if she could get something for free.

"Wonderful! Now give me a moment to set up my stand." he said excitedly as his grin widened even more, if that was possible.

The salesman walked a little ways and within a flash, a small stand with dozens of costumes and masks hanging out on display appeared.

"Now please have a look at my wares!" he said as he stood behind the counter.

* * *

><p><strong><span>End Theme<span>**

**Some time later at another location!**

**Play Final Fantasy VII OST- Farm Boy**

It was around lunch time at Radiant Garden's Chocobo ranch and both Terra and Shin were caring for the massive birds.

Ever since they were tasked with caring the White Chocobo chick, Stardust, they had been volunteering at the ranch, helping out in anyway they could in exchange for the means to care for their little chick.

At the moment Shin was walking around the stalls filling the troughs with various greens, berries and nuts for the giant birds to eat.

As he walked around, soft music was being strummed out by a certain blond musician.

For some odd reason Myde was there as well, sitting on a bail of hay and strumming out a simple tune on his sitar. Many of the smaller Chocobo and the chicks were around him, dancing and flitting about.

Shin stopped walking about and looked at the older man. "You know, this work would get done a lot faster if you helped too." he said with his hands on his hips.

"I am helping! I'm entertaining the chicks with my awesome music!" the aquamancer said as he continued to strum his Arpeggio.

The brunet shook his head with a sigh before he turned away and went back to feeding the Chocobos.

But he didn't even take two steps before he accidentally tripped on a loose floorboard and fell onto the end of a nearby bench, causing it to flip and the open bag of manure sitting on the other end to be sent flying through the air, heading straight for-!

Myde was still playing on his sitar unaware of what was about to happen.

"Myde look out!" Shin cried out in alarm.

Curious, the blond looked up just in time to see the bag of manure heading straight towards him.

The bag crashed onto the musician, covering him in fresh compost as he cried out in horror.

"Who even has a bag of manure on a Chocobo ranch?!" he cried out in despair as a river of tears streamed down his face.

**Demyx owned: IX**

**Achievement Unlocked!**

Shin winced and couldn't help but feel sorry for the guy.

**End Theme**

**Play Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time OST- Lon Lon Ranch**

Meanwhile Terra was in one of the stalls brushing the feathers of the Chocobo that resided in there.

Though it looked like she wasn't quite paying attention to what she was doing since she had been brushing the same spot for over the last five minutes with a dazed expression on her face.

Seeing that his lady friend hadn't finished her task, Shin walked to the stall she was working in.

"Hey Terra, are you feeling alright?" he asked with a slight bit of concern in his voice.

The young Mage simply kept brushing as if she hadn't heard him.

"Terra?" the boy asked in a slightly louder tone, trying to catch his friend's attention.

Still the girl didn't react.

With a frown on his face, Shinryu entered the stall. "Terra, can you hear me?" he asked as he walked up next to the smaller girl and gently shook her shoulder.

With a small start, Terra shook her head and regained her bearings. "Huh, Shin? Sorry, I guess I zoned out there for a bit. What did you say?" she asked with a sheepish grin as she looked at her male friend, embarrassed by the fact that she had been caught not paying attention to the chore she had been assigned.

"I asked if you're feeling alright?" the young man asked, his concerned brown eyes locked onto her tired looking, ethereal violet orbs.

"Oh, I'm fine Shin. Just a little tired is all!" the Mage said while trying to put on an enthusiastic expression, but she only came off looking more tired.

Shin's frown deepened at the blatant lie. His eyes roved over her face, taking in the obvious bags under her eyes, her flushed cheeks and red nose, and the tired look in her eyes. It was obvious to him that Terra Branford was sick.

"Are you sure? Because you look pretty sick to me." he said as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"I'm not sick Shin, honest!" she said with a shake of her head. "I'm still as fit as a fiddle!" she crossed her arms over her chest with a confident look on her face. "I bet I can take on a Behemoth right now without any trouble, whoa...!" the emerald-haired beauty said as a sudden wave of dizziness came over her.

The girl held her head with her right hand as she tried to keep her balance. Sadly she failed and began to fall forward.

Acting quickly, Shin placed his hands on his friend's shoulders and let her lean against him to help her regain her balance.

"Okay, I guess I'm a little bit sick..." she said through heavy breaths as she rested her forehead against the brunet's right shoulder.

The two of them remained like that for several moments before Terra was finally able to stand on her own.

They separated from each other, but Shin kept a soft, but firm, grip on his friend's shoulders to keep her from falling. As such the two of them stayed no more than a foot apart from one another.

"Can you stand on you own?" the young man asked gently.

The green-haired beauty nodded softly, head bowed and staring at the space between them.

The brunet let go of Terra's shoulders and stepped back by a few inches. "You haven't been acting much like your usual self lately Terra. Are you sure you're okay?" he asked as he cupped her chin and lifted her head so their eyes could meet.

"There's nothing to worry about Shin. I'm fine! I've just been getting these really annoying headaches a lot recently." the young woman said with a reassuring smile.

Still unconvinced, Shin reached forward and placed the back of his right hand against the smaller girl's forehead.

The young Mage's eyes widened in surprise at the action. She was entirely unsure what to think about this at the moment.

'_Ah! Why did he put his hand on my forehead?_' she thought as her cheeks tinged a light pink color. '_His hand... It's so big... And it feels so good against my skin..._' she thought as she closed her eyes, enjoying the comfortable coolness that radiated from her friend's hand.

'_Hmm, she's really warm. She's probably has a small fever. Best if I get her home._' the boy thought as he felt the girl's temperature.

He removed his hand from the girl's forehead, but before he could return it to his side, she grabbed it and pressed the palm of it against her left cheek, trying to absorb all of the coolness from it.

'_So cool..._' she thought as she let out a soft moan of relief. She tightened her grip on the appendage and nuzzled her face further into the palm, a small smile gracing her features.

Shin felt his face heat up at the sudden and unexpected action. This was the last thing he expected the normally shy and reserved Terra to do.

The emerald-haired beauty was deeply enjoying the comforting coolness she was feeling from her friend's hand until she felt something nudge against her side.

Making a sound of confusion, she cracked open her right eye and saw the Chocobo she had been grooming before looking at her.

"Kweh!" the giant yellow bird cried as it ruffled its feathers slightly, as if reminding her of reality.

The Mage then opened her other eye and finally noticed that she still had Shin's hand pressed against her face. Realizing that what she was doing was inappropriate, her entire face turned beat red and she quickly let go of her friend's hand. She quickly backed away with a look of utter embarrassment on her face.

"Ah, I'm sorry! I don't know what came over me!" she said as she waved her hands in front of her face.

"It's okay. I'm not holding it against you. Besides, it was actually kind of... Cute. You reminded me of a cat." Shin said with a small blush staining his cheeks as he scratched the back of his head.

Terra's blush darkened even more if that was even possible and quickly averted her gaze from the young man before her.

'_H-he called me cute?!_' the emerald-haired beauty thought as she bit her lip.

'_Why did I say just say that?!_' the brunet thought in embarrassment as he looked off to the side.

The two then stood there for several moments, unable to utter a word to one another.

...

...

...

(Great! Now it's awkward.)

Before their awkward silence could continue any longer Myde walked by with a towel around his neck and slightly damp hair. He had just come back from washing off all of the manure that landed on him earlier and making sure that he didn't still reek of the stuff.

"Hey guys, whatcha doing?" the musician asked as he stopped to look at the two. He then noticed the awkwardness that was going on between them. "Um, did I miss something?" he asked with an arched brow.

Seeing as they had company, Terra and Shin quickly shook off their embarrassment of the previous situation and looked at the older teen.

"Oh, hey Myde, glad to see you're back. Listen, Terra's not feeling all too well so I'm going to take her home. You can handle everything on your face own for a while right, thanks. We'll be going now." Shin said seemingly in one breath and left the stall with Terra before the musician could give a response.

When the duo was gone, Myde looked to the Chocobo with a confused expression. "Uh, what just happened?" he asked the bird, earning a squawk in reply.

**With Terra and Shin!**

The duo now exited out of the barn, leisurely making their way to the ranch's exit.

As they walked along the path, the emerald-haired beauty glanced at her friend every so often, biting her lips nervously in thought.

"Do you want to say something?" the boy asked without turned nag to look at her, prompting the girl to let out a soft squeak of surprise.

She remained silent for a moment, watching her own feet walk across the ground as she thought of what to say. When she got her thoughts in order she took a deep breath to calm her nerves. "I'm sorry about what happened earlier. I didn't mean to burden you with my problems." she said forlornly as she bowed her head.

The brown-haired boy couldn't help but chuckle a little. "It's not a burden at all Terra. You could have told that you weren't feeling well today. I could've handled today's chores on my own." he said as he stopped walking and turned to look at the Mage, prompting her to do the same.

"But I didn't want to dump all of the work on you." Terra replied with her hands clad behind her back.

"Well it doesn't really matter all that much since we both dumped our chores on Myde." the boy said sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head.

"I guess you have a point there." the girl said with a giggle. Do you think he'll be okay in there?" she asked with a bit of concern as she looked back towards the barn, prompting the boy to do the same.

Just then, the sound of crashing and Myde screaming was heard echoing across the ranch.

**Demyx owned: 10**

"I'm sure he'll be fine." Shin said as he looked back towards his female friend.

Terra nodded her head in agreement.

A wave of dizziness hit the Mage, causing her to swoon.

The brunet quickly caught her and made sure that she was able to regain her balance.

"Come on, let's get you home. You need your rest." he said as he held onto her.

The girl nodded in affirmation and they began to make their way off the farm.

"And Terra..." Shin stated, earning his friend's attention. "If you ever have a problem, or need help with anything, just come to me. I'll help you the best I can." he said with conviction as he looked her in the eyes.

"I will." she said, nodding in agreement.

The two exited the ranch and made their way towards the city.

**End Theme**

* * *

><p><strong><span>That Evening!<span>**

It now around five-thirty in the evening, and the inhabitants of the Castle Town were starting to make their way back to their homes.

The light of the setting sun cast painted the sky with oranges, purples, pinks, and blues as the waning light illuminated the streets below.

The streets were nearly devoid of life, with only few wandering souls and the occasional light that was peering out from a nearby window. It wouldn't have been all that bad if it wasn't for all of the Halloween decor giving everything a creepy feeling to it.

It was eerily silent as well. Not even the sound of crickets could be heard. If anyone was walking about at this time, then they would certainly start to feel the creeps.

But the silence was soon broken by the sound of loud footsteps and creaking.

After several moments the source of the sound came into view, reviewing it to be a walking bathtub.

The Bathtub was, true to its name, a large, white bathtub with four short, three-toed, white legs on its sides. The tub had a large rim and a very small faucet on its inner side. The faucet and drain plug, which was held on by a chain, appeared rusted and discolored.

The bathtub walked down the now empty streets of the Castle Town with relative silence as it carried its three mischievous riders.

The riders were three children, two boys and a girl, all seeming to be the same age if their heights were anything to go by. All three children wore Halloween costumes with masks.

One of the boys was dressed as a devil, wearing a plain, long-sleeved, tattered red shirt, and pants of the same color. His brown shoes had pointed toes that curled upward, and he seemed to wear pale orange gloves. Under the mask he wore his skin was an unhealthy grey color, his eyes were an eerie yellow and his lips were sky blue. His upper eyelids were a pink color, while the lower ones were periwinkle. His chin was rather large and the top of his head was quite flat. His ears were set rather low on his head, and his eyebrows were the same shade of red as his clothes, while the rest of his hair was a darker red-brown color. He styled his hair in such a way that he had two "horns" in the front. His nose was pointed, but not nearly as large as the girl's nose. His mask was a faded red devil's face with horns that curved upward much more than his hair. The mask's mouth was curled into a ghastly smile, showing sharp teeth. His outfit was completed by a red, pointed tail, though it was unclear whether or not this was an accessory.

The only girl of the group was easily the tallest, being only slightly taller than the boy in the devil costume, as well as the thinnest. She was dressed as a witch, wearing a purple witch's hat that was about the same height (perhaps even taller) than her. Her hair was wiry and blue, the same color as the makeup she wore around her eyes. She also seemed to wear sky blue lipstick (though both of the boys had lips of the same color, so that may have been her normal lip color) and had deathly grey skin, the latter being a trait all three children shared. Her face and neck were quite long and her nose was enormous and pointed, taking up most of her face. The girl's mask was a plain grey-green one that sported the same large nose as her own face, and its mouth was set in a deep frown. She wore a pink dress with a dark purple hem, as well as black boots and dark purple gloves.

The last boy was the shortest and most rotund of the trio, sporting the same pale grey skin and blue lips as his friends. His head was spherical and he had short, pale green hair. His nose was very small when compared to the other two, and it was upturned. His eyes are quite close together and appeared to be sunken into his head, though this could just be an illusion created by the dark makeup around them. He dressed up like a skeleton, wearing tattered purple pants and a like-colored shirt. Both of these pieces of clothing were decorated with bones roughly corresponding to their locations in the human body. Unlike his friends, he didn't seem to wear gloves, but his feet were oddly shaped, with three toes of the same length. It wasn't clear if they were part of his costume or were his actual feet. His mask was that of a skull; a simple, round, white mask with the mouth being bare teeth set in a wide grin, reflecting the fact that the boy himself was usually seen grinning.

**Play Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories OST- Just Wondering**

"Can you tell me again why we're here Shock?" the boy in the devil costume said as he rested his chin rest on the lip of the bathtub and let his arms dangle limply over the edge.

A tick mark appeared on the girl's forehead, oddly enough it was on visible on her mask as well. She let out a groan of frustration and quickly turned around to face the masked boy. "Lock you idiot! How could you forget what the boss told us to do!" the now named Shock said as she bopped her companion on the head. "We're here to mess up whatever Jack's planning to do with this whole festival thing that he's helping set up!" she with a scowl beneath her mask.

"Yeah, and when the whole thing turns into a big disaster Mr. Oogie Boogie can pop in and save the day with his decorations!" the small boy in the skeleton costume said excitedly.

"Right!" the little witch said with a nod.

"Well how are we supposed to do that?" Lock asked in an annoyed tone as he rubbed the top of his head.

"We destroy all of the decorations of course! With all of the decorations trashed so close to the festival, they won't have enough time to replace it all!" Shock said, grinning widely under her mask.

"And then the boss will come in and prove he's way better than Jack when it comes to planning and throwing the best Halloween parties!" the green-haired boy said excitedly.

"You got that right. And then Mr. Oogie Boogie will reward us with all the candy we want!" the little bluenette said excitedly.

"Now this is starting to sound like fun!" the small red-head said with a smile matching the one on his mask.

"Now..." the little witch started as she turned her gaze towards the smallest member of the trio. "Did you bring the stuff Barrel?" she asked the boy.

Barrel grinned beneath his mask and pulled a large sack from... somewhere.

"Got it all right here!" he said as he opened up the sack to reveal an assortment of small, multicolored pumpkin-like objects with fuses sticking out of the top. "So what should we start with first? Stink Bombs? Paint bombs? Or the super TP bombs?!" he asked excitedly as he and his two cohorts looked over the sack's contents.

"Why don't we set up tons of stink bombs all over the Central Square. And when they go off, all of the food and game stands will reek!" Shock said as she pulled out a small green pumpkin bomb and held it up to the moonlight.

"Ooh, I like that! What then?!" Lock asked excitedly.

"After that we'll take all of the spooky paint bombs and mess up all of the decorations in the castle town!" the little witch said as she pulled out a neon green pumpkin bomb that glowed in the dark.

"And then?!" Barrel asked excitedly.

"Then we'll use the super TP bombs to TP the entire neighborhood!" she said as she pulled out a white pumpkin bomb, causing the two boys to cheer.

The three children then laughed maniacally, excited about all of the mischief they'll cause.

They were so caught up in their scheming that they didn't notice the person walking besides them.

"You three certainly sound like you have big plans." a soft, feminine voice said in amusement, causing the three children to snap their heads towards the speaker.

What they saw was a fairly attractive young woman that appeared to be around sixteen or so with waist-length, snow-white hair flowing down her back like a curtain with a small light blue snowflake-shaped headpiece on the left side of her head. She had icy blue eyes with nearly indistinguishable blue pupils of a slightly darker color, and pale, nearly snow white, skin with rosy cheeks, pale, slightly blue lips, and small freckles. She stood at a good 5'0" and had a modest figure with C-cup breasts, an average waist size, wide hips, and long, creamy legs. Her attire consisted of an elegant, floor-length, light blue furisode-style kimono depicting a blizzard on it with long, draping sleeves, a baby blue obi sash with depictions of white snowflakes on it, white tabi socks, and geta sandals. Tied to her obi sash was a small lyre-like harp that was seemingly made of a crystal-like substance.

She walked alongside the walking bathtub at a leisurely pace with a small smile on her face. Her every movement was fluid and graceful, giving off the impression of nobility. Though oddly enough, the children couldn't hear any footsteps coming from her.

"Who the heck are you?!" Lock asked as he pointed at the girl.

"Oh I'm just a simple passerby who overheard your conversation." she said with a disarmingly beautiful smile.

The trio was taken aback by this strange girl. For some odd reason, they felt comfortable around her.

"Are you going to stop us?" Shock asked as she crossed her arms over her chest, frowning beneath her mask and glaring at the older girl as if daring her to try.

The stranger simply giggled. As if amused by the younger girl's bravado. "On the contrary, I don't intend to stop you from having your fun. In fact, I want to help you kids." she said as her smile became mischievous.

"Really? How so?" the small bluenette asked with interest.

"I might have an idea that might make your mischief more fun." she said as she tapped her chin with her dainty index finger.

"And what kind of idea do you got?" Shock asked tilting her head to the side.

Shadows obscured the mysterious girl's eyes as her smile widened. "Please follow me." she said as she turned around and walked away.

The three children looked glanced at each other for a moment before moving for their bathtub to follow the woman.

They walked off, completely unaware that they were being watched.

Once they were out of sight, Shin walked out from behind a nearby alley with a suspicious frown on his face.

'_What are they up to? And who was that girl?_' he thought as he began to follow the odd group.

**End Theme**

**Later!**

**Play Persona 3 OST- Backside of The TV**

The night had now fully settled in as Shin continued to follow the odd group.

He followed them down the deserted winding streets and through dark alleys until he suddenly lost sight of them when he found himself deep in the Boroughs of Radiant Garden.

"Where did they go?" he asked as he looked around for the people he was following.

Now one would wonder why the boy would even concern himself with a bunch of strangers. And in any other situation he would have likely ignored them. But those children he saw were acting suspicious, if their talks about their pranks was anything to go by. But it was the white-haired girl most of all that caught his interest. There was something about her that was just... off. So against his better judgement, he decided to follow them.

And now he had no clue where he was.

When he was unable to find any recognizable landmarks, he shook his head in frustration and let out a sigh. "Great, now I'm lost! Maybe I should have just minded my own business." he said as he ran a hand through his hair.

Just then he heard what sounded like children's laughter coming from nearby.

After a moment of hesitance, he decided to follow the sound to its source.

After wandering about for a bit, he finally found the source of the laughter.

The three children he had been tailing were standing in front of a long flight of stairs that led up to Radiant Garden's Marketplace.

The trio then ran up the stairs before the boy could get their attention.

Seeing that he had no other choice, Shin followed them up into the Marketplace.

**End Theme**

He followed the children until they came upon one of the stands that had been set up for the festival.

Lock, Shock, and Barrel were laughing mischievously as they hopped out of the back of a horse drawn wagon with many different types of masks painted along each side.

"What are they doing? And where did that girl go?" Shin asked as he hid behind a nearby trash can to avoid being seen.

**Play Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories OST- Just Wondering**

"Can you believe what we just scored?!" Shock asked with a mischievous snicker as she jumped out of the back of the wagon with several odd looking masks held in her small arms.

"Why are we even taking a bunch of masks for? We already have some in case you didn't notice!" Lock said as he took off his devil mask and held it in front of the little girl's face.

The small witch frowned behind her mask. "I know that you idiot! But that lady said that these masks have a special magic in them." she said as she held up a rock-like mask with eyeholes on it.

"Yeah, like these masks can make us move faster or invisible." the redhead said skeptically as he placed his mask back onto his face.

"Well I think they're cool!" Barrel said as he held up a mask that looked more like a yellow hood with bunny ears sticking out of the top.

"Nobody asked for your opinion!" the small devil yelled as he looked at the green-haired boy.

"You're just jealous that your mask doesn't have any cool powers!" the young skeleton said teasingly.

"Am not! And your mask doesn't have any powers neither!" said the red garbed boy.

"Are too!" the stouter boy said tauntingly, completely ignoring the second statement.

"Are not!" Was Lock's rebuttal.

"Are too!" taunted Barrel.

This back and forth argument continued for several moments until Shock had enough.

Fed up with the argument, the young bluenette took off her witch mask and used it to smack both of her cohorts on their heads.

"Knock it off will ya?!" she said with a growl as she sent a glare at the two. She then placed her mask back onto her face and jumped into their walking bathtub, which had been standing next to them the whole time. "I wish my cohorts weren't so dumb..." the girl said with a sigh as she pulled out a sack and began stuffing the masks she and her accomplices had 'acquired' into it.

"I'm not the dumb one!" Lock said with a scowl on his face.

"You're no fun!" Barrel said with a frown.

"Shut up!" Shock shouted as she glared at the two. "Anyway, with these masks or schemes could go swimmingly! Not only that, I bet that Mr. Oogie Boogie will like to have these masks too. Who knows what kind of mischief they could cause?" she said with a giggle, which sounded more like a witch-like cackle.

"Oh yeah, I bet he could use them to finally beat Jack once and for all and become the king of Halloween!" Lock said excitedly.

"That sounds like fun!" Barrel said with just as much excitement.

The three children then proceeded to do a villainous stereotype by laughing maniacally.

**End Theme**

"That doesn't sound good." Shin muttered as he watched the scene. "I better go and stop them from causing any sort of trouble." he said as he stood up from behind the trash can.

Just then he felt a pair of small, dainty hands grip both of his shoulders from behind and the soft, melodic voice of a woman whisper into his ear.

"You know it's considered very rude to follow someone without them knowing about it." she said in a hauntingly sweet tone.

With a gasp Shin spun around to confront whoever had snuck up on him, only for his eyes to widen when he saw that no one was there.

Unfortunately, his sudden movement caused the trashcan he was using for cover to tip over and hit the ground with a loud clatter, alerting the three scheming children to his presence.

(Cue Metal Gear alert sound effect here.)

Three giant red exclamation marks appeared above the trio's heads as they turned around and spotted Shin.

"Uh oh, we've been caught!" Barrel said in alarm.

"Cheese it!" Lock said as he hopped into the Bathtub, shortly followed by his two associates.

The Bathtub then began to waddle away as quickly as its stubby legs could take it.

**Play Kingdom Hearts II OST- Spooks of Halloween Town**

Shin grit his teeth in frustration as he saw the little thieves attempting to escape. He opted to ignore the strange occurrence that had just happened and opted to chase after the kids instead. "Get back here you three!" he said as he gave chase.

Due to the Bathtub not being all that fast he was able to catch up to the fleeing trio. But before he could get close enough to stop them, Barrel turned around and threw an orange, Pumpkin-like bomb at him, forcing the brunet to dodge out of the way.

The bomb hit the ground and let out a small but loud explosion. Luckily there was no real damage to the surrounding area.

"That was close." the darkly dressed young man said as he stood back up. After dusting himself off he noticed that Lock, Shock, and Barrel had gained some ground again. "Hey!" he shouted as he gave chase once more.

"Hey, he's catching up again! Don't we have anything to move faster?!" the small red devil asked as he looked at his two cohorts.

"I think this mask makes whoever wears this move faster or something." Barrel said as he pulled out the Bunny Hood.

"Well then find a way to put it on you idiot!" Shock said as she pulled out another bomb and threw it at their pursuer.

the stout skeleton looked around until he spotted the tub's faucet. Not finding anywhere better, he put the mask over the faucet and hopped for the best.

Just then, Bathtub suddenly picked up speed, causing the three to fall into the tub.

"Now we're talking!" Lock said excitedly as he picked up a bomb.

"What the...?" Shin said when he saw the bathtub gain speed. He picked up the pace, doing his best to catch up to the trio all while dodging the bombs they threw at him.

* * *

><p>The case continued like this all throughout the Borough and into the Castle Town. Along the way, Shin found out that he could slow them down by batting their bombs back at them. It was made especially easier when he had found a sturdy stick along the way.<p>

Upon seeing Shin getting close to them once more, Lock grabbed a pumpkin bomb and chucked it at the older boy.

Seeing his chance, Shin used the stick to send the bomb back to sender.

"Uh oh..." the trio chimed at once as the bomb sailed right back towards them.

The pumpkin bomb hit the back of the bathtub, causing it to be sent flying a couple of feet into the air where the Bunny Hood mask flew off of the faucet.

Before Lock, Shock, and Barrel could react, the tub flipped over while in midair with its feet pointing up towards the sky as it came crashing down onto the ground upside down, trapping the three troublemakers inside. Luckily they were able to get some air thanks to the drain hole being unplugged.

**End Theme**

The bathtub's legs kicked about futilely as it tried to continue running.

"Hey, get us out of here!" Shock cried from within the bathtub.

Shin breathed a sigh of relief, glad to see that the chase had finally ended.

He then noticed that all of the ruckus had garnered some attention.

"What's going on out here?" a man said as he made his way towards the scene.

When the man stopped in front of the boy, the brunet had to look up in order to gaze upon the slender form of the Pumpkin King himself, Jack Skellington.

**Play Kingdom Hearts II OST- This Is Halloween**

Uh, well you see..." Shin started nervously as he began to explain what had happened.

"I see..." Jack said in thought as he held his chin. "Well it's a good thing that you were able to stop them. I don't know what I would do if they ruined all of the decorations so close to the festival. So thank you for that." the skeleton said with a grin.

"It's no problem." the young man said as he scratched the back of his head.

"Oh don't be so modest! Now, let's have a good look at these troublemakers." the sharply dressed corpse said as he bent down and grabbed the edge of the bathtub.

And with no effort at all he lifted the edge of the tub and flipped it up onto its feet, revealing the occupants under it.

Upon getting a good look at the culprits, a frown replaced Jack's ever present grin.

"Lock, Shock, and Barrel. I should have known." he said with a shake of his skull.

"You know these three?" Shin asked curiously.

"These three troublemakers are Oogie Boogie's henchmen. They cause all sorts of problems back in Halloween Town. And I bet my ribs that Oogie put them up to this." he said as he crossed his long, spindly arms over his chest.

"Hey Jack!" Lock said in a nervous tone.

"How's it going?" asked Barrel.

"We weren't doing anything bad, Jack." Shock said in an innocent tone.

Jack didn't respond to the three and simply shook his head with a sigh. He turned to address Shin once more.

"I thank you again. If you hadn't stopped them then I doubt we would be able to hold the festival this year. If you ever need a hand with anything, then just let me know." the Pumpkin King said with a grin.

"What are you going to do with them?" Shin asked as he looked at the three children.

"I'll think of a suitable punishment after the festival. But for now I'll have them sent back to Halloween Town so they won't cause anymore trouble here." the tall skeleton said as he looked down at the trio with a stern look.

Shin nodded in acceptance of that.

"Ah, it seems that you were able to retrieve my stolen masks!" a voice said right next to the brown-haired young man, causing him to jump in shock.

Jack looked at the newcomer and grinned. "Ah, it's you!" he said happily.

The Happy Mask Salesman grinned as well. "It's good to see you again Pumpkin King." he said with his signature chuckle.

"I didn't think you'd be here for the festival." Jack said in mild surprise.

"You know me. I always go to where I'm needed." said the mysterious redhead.

"That's understandable. Let's meet up again later this week before the festival. I would love to talk about what kind of costumes you could sell to the kids!" the sharply dressed corpse said excitedly.

"Yes, yes, I'll be sure to visit. But for now I must return my stolen merchandise to my little shop." the salesman said as he picked up the sack holding several of his masks and the Bunny Hood that lied on the ground nearby. With his items in hand he bid goodbye to the Pumpkin King and walked off back to his shop.

"Well, I should take these three and be on my way. Thank you again for all of the help. Now you should be heading home as well. It's getting pretty late." he said as he picked Lock, Shock, and Barrel up off the ground by the backs of their shirts with one hand. "I hope to see you during the festival." he said with a grin.

"Yeah, me too." the young man said with a nod.

"Wonderful! So until then, this is goodbye." he said with a nod before he turned around and walked away with the three troublemakers hanging limply in his grasp and the walking bathtub waddling along after him.

The young man let out a tired sigh and began to make his way back home, desiring to simply get some sleep after the exciting night he had.

**End Theme**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Later that night!<span>**

It was well after midnight and a local cemetery in Radiant Garden sat silent and empty, its inhabitants resting silently in their eternal sleep.

Everything was at peace...

Or so it seemed.

Jest then, the soft sound of a harp being played filled the air. Each pluck of the strings giving off a haunting and somber melody.

Play Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories OST- Scent of Silence

The mysterious white-haired girl played a crystalline harp, smiling at the beautiful melody she played.

"It's a pity. I was hoping that those kids would liven things up around here. But it seems that was only wishful thinking." she spoke out loud to no one in particular. "Oh well, they played their part wonderfully anyways. I have what I came for, so now all I have to do is wait for just the right time." she said as her smile morphed into a twisted grin. "But for now, I'll simply play my songs. Please feel free to dance to it if you want to." she said as she closed her eyes and focused on her playing once more.

Fog then began to form around her as small wispy balls of light appeared from thin air and began to move and twirl about, as if dancing.

"Soon, it'll be time for the main performance!" the girl said excitedly as she continued to play.

**End Theme**

**End of Chapter 13**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Author's Notes<span>**

Titano Man: And that brings another chapter to a close. And just in the nick of time too! I almost missed Halloween!

Karly: Ahem!

Titano Man: What?

Shin: Aren't you forgetting something?

Titano Man: Um, I don't think so.

Karly: The poll results you idiot!

Titano Man: Oh that? I got so caught up with this chapter that I nearly forgot about it. I had to rewrite it three times.

Karly: Yeah, don't care. Besides, I'm not even in this one! Now get on with it!

Titano Man: Alright, but first-

Kaya: Get on with it!

Rachel: Yes, get on with it.

Crowd:** Get on with it!**

Titano Man: Okay, okay, geez! I'll now announce the winner of the poll. With a whopping sixty percent of the vote, can I get a drumroll please?

A drumroll began playing.

Titano Man: The winner of my first poll is Super Smash Brothers Unlimited (Story Mode)!

A fanfare played.

Titano Man: thank you all so much for participating. I'll upload a sneak peak/first chapter as soon as it's complete. Now if a story that you wanted didn't get chosen, then don't worry I'll do another poll in the future to see which one you want to see next in the future. So once again, thank you all and I hope you enjoy. Now play the teaser for the next chapter!

Teaser:

Jack: Welcome everyone! Please enjoy the festival

Xion: Do you like my costume?

Terra: I'm glad that you could make it here.

Roxas: Who are you?

?: Now it's time for my main performance!

Narrator: Next time, A Haunting Melody part 1!

Titano Man: Thank you all for reading everyone! Please favorite, follow, and review. It'll make me want to write more! So until then, stay awesome!

Nova: See you guys next time!


	14. A Haunting Melody

Original Posting: 12/17/15

Titano Man: Hello everyone, and welcome to the next installment of Final Kingdom Arc 1! I'm going to be tackling quite a lot in these next two chapters, from world building and character development, to maybe some plot advancement, we'll see. So with that said, roll the disclaimer!

Mystery Girl: Titano Man XIII does not own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, or Final Fantasy in general, Pokémon, or anything else that he decides to put into this story. The only thing he does own are all of the OCs that appear in this story with the exception of Shinryu Verus, who belongs to The Unknowing Herald. Please enjoy the performance!

Titano Man: On with the show!

* * *

><p><strong><span>Final Kingdom Arc 1 Kingdom Hearts Academy<span>**

**Play Bleach opening 4- Tonight, tonight, tonight by Beat Crusaders**

**Narrator: It was three days until the festival and the people of Radiant Garden were setting up the last few details for the celebration. It was a clear and sunny day and the temperature was mild at best. The town was buzzing with activity, from the workers setting up for the festival, to the royal guard patrolling the streets, to the townspeople going about their day. Yes, everything was going well and absolutely nothing could go wrong. Nothing at all.**

Damon felt a shiver go down his spine. The boy let out an audible shudder before he started looking around.

The scene then froze and the name of the chapter appeared with Yuki's voice reading it out loud.

**A Haunting Melody**

The scene began playing again.

**Play Kingdom Hearts OST- It All Started With A Letter**

"What's up with you all of a sudden?" Karly asked with an arched eyebrow.

"I just had the feeling that someone had just invoked Finagle's Law." the black haired teen said with a frown, his crimson eyes still scanning the area for the supposed invoker.

"And here it thought you couldn't get any weirder." the brunette said with a sigh as she shook her head.

"Ha, ha, princess." the Head of the Disciplinary Committee said with a roll of his eyes. "Besides, my gut is never wrong!" he said as he pointed at himself with his thumb.

The girl rolled her eyes. "Riiiiight! Like it was right when you suspected that ice cream guy for being a spy." she said mockingly.

"That guy said that he had every flavor of ice cream and yet he didn't even have Strawberry Cinnamon Swirl?! That man clearly had ulterior motives!" he said with a growl.

Karly just let out an annoyed huff.

"Man, the two of you bicker like an old married couple." Renela said with a chuckle as she looked at the bickering duo.

"We do not!" the two replied indignantly as they glared at the blonde, prompting her to only laugh louder.

"Renela, please don't antagonize Damon or his apprentice." the man Damon usually referred to as Tank said in a professional tone as he stood straight, looking forward, and with his hands clasped behind his back.

"Oh, come on Tank, you know I was only teasing!" the woman said playfully.

"That's Toriyama to you." the now named Toriyama stated stoically, still not looking at the smaller woman.

"I'm your superior here in case you forgot, so I can call you whatever I want!" Renela stated with a smirk as she pointed at the Disciplinary Committee's Third in Command.

The only response she got out of him was a soft growl.

"Knock it off you two! We represent the school, so I can't have my top subordinates bickering like children." Damon said as he looked at the two.

"Oh, we can't bicker, but it's okay when you do it?" the blonde said with a frown as she looked at her boss.

"Hey, it's not my fault that Princess here likes to argue with me." the black-haired boy said as he pointed at said girl with his thumb.

"Want to say that again you bastard?!" Karly said with a growl as she glared at the, in her words, worst asshole she had ever met.

Just then, there was the sound of someone clearing their throat.

The quartet then remembered that they were in the presence of the Headmaster and stood at attention.

"As amusing as that was, I would like to get back to business." the Headmaster said as he laced his fingers together on top of his desk. "As you already know, the festival is only a few short days away, and many people from both inside and outside of Radiant Garden are going to be in visiting it." he said as he looked at the four students in front of him.

"And you want the disciplinary committee to lend a hand, right?" Damon asked with an arched brow.

"Correct." the shadowed man said with a nod. "I want the committee to help around the festival, whether it's working the stalls and attractions, or keeping people out of trouble, I want you all to make sure nothing goes wrong. This will also have the added bonus of boosting the Disciplinary Committee's reputation." said the man.

"We won't disappoint you sir!" Toriyama said with a resolute nod.

"Is there anything else you want us to know?" Renela asked respectfully. Hey, she may act like a raging she-demon to a lot of people, but she wouldn't want to piss off the Headmaster unless she wanted to ruin her future.

"No, that is all. Now if you excuse me, I have an important meeting to attend to." the man said as he stood from his seat.

The four members of the disciplinary committee nodded respectfully and took their leave.

The Headmaster of Kingdom Hearts Academy watched them leave before he straightened his suit, gathered a few files and took his leave as well.

**End Theme**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Later<span>**

Later that day, a familiar white-haired girl wearing a blue kimono was wandering through the streets of the city without a care, simply watching as the people set up the finishing touches for the festival.

"This town is just so lively!" she said with a giggle as she watched the people scurry about on their business.

She continued walking about until she found herself at the city square that sat in front of the castle.

Several food and game stands sat around in a ring around the upper level of the square while the main area where the flower beds sat was mostly cleared of structures save for numerous jack-o'-lanterns strewn about and an intimidating scarecrow with a jack-o'-lantern for a head set up as a centerpiece in the middle. All around the area there were banners, decorations and signs that simply gave off the feeling of Halloween.

There was a small crowd of children standing in front of the scarecrow, staring at it in curiosity.

Curious herself, the harpist made her way over to the group.

"Creepy..." a young boy wearing a purple rabbit mask said as he looked up at the scarecrow.

"I think it looks cool!" another, taller boy wearing a red fox mask said crossing his arms over his chest.

"Of course you'd think it'd look cool!" a young girl wearing a yellow chicken mask said with a huff as she looked at the taller boy.

"Can you guys not fight!" a third boy wearing a brown bear mask said with a sigh.

Just then the scarecrow subtly twitched.

"D-did that thing just move?!" the boy in the rabbit mask asked fearfully.

"Quit trying to scare us!" the boy in the fox mask said with a hands on his hips.

"YOU _SHOULD_ BE SCARED LITTLE BOY!" the 'scarecrow' shouted threateningly as its head snapped towards the four masked kids, it's eyes glowing a fiery orange light.

The scarecrow cackled madly as the children screamed in terror and ran away as fast as they could. Even the white-haired girl jumped at the sudden scare.

But when the scarecrow saw the children running away, it tilted its head to the side and hummed in thought.

"Perhaps I overdid it a bit." it said as it scratched its pumpkin head, its voice no longer as threatening as it was before.

"I think I can agree with you on that regard." the harpist said as she caught her breath. "Why are you scaring little kids anyway?" she asked with a small frown on her face as she put her hands on her hips.

"Why it's my job to scare people! As the planner of this festival and as the Pumpkin King, it's my duty to make people feel the exciting chill of terror and fear on Halloween!" the scarecrow said as it removed its pumpkin head to reveal to familiar skull of Jack Skelington.

**Play Kingdom Hearts OST- This Is Halloween**

"I see. A title as lofty as that is bound to come with much responsibility. And to be in charge of an entire holiday, I can't imagine something so difficult." the girl said as she put a hand on her cheek thoughtfully.

"Hey, if Sandy Claws can deliver Christmas presents to children all across the worlds in just one night, then I can handle this!" the tall skeleton said confidently.

"Well, you certainly seem confident enough for it!" the albino girl said with a giggle. "Tell me... If you're in charge of an entire holiday, why are you helping plan this festival?" she asked in a curious tone as she clasped her hands behind her back.

Jack let out a chuckle. "Well you see, a few years ago we struck a deal with mr. Ansem to trade with each other. Since then we've been trading produce, crops, and synthesis materials." he said with a grin.

"Then how is it you're planning the festival then?" the girl asked with an arched brow.

"Well not too long after we made the trade agreement, mr. Ansem me to help him set up a festival he planned to throw on Halloween and I agreed. The festival went off without a hitch and he asked me to help him set up festivals for every Halloween. It's become a sort of tradition since then." the Pumpkin King said with a shrug.

"It must be fun planning the festival and thinking of new ways to scare people." the harpist said with a smile.

"Oh yes very fun indeed! Finding new ways to make people enjoy Halloween is my purpose. In fact this year we're turning the castle into a giant haunted house!" Jack said excitedly.

"Is that so?" she asked in a curious tone. "With a place so big, where you can overlook the entire city, then there's bound to be a lot of content, ne?" she asked with a smile as she held her chin with her thumb and index finger.

"Oh, yes! There is going to be tons and tons of things to see and do in the haunted house! It's guaranteed to scare you out of your pants!" the skeleton said excitedly as he did a pose.

"I'm not wearing pants..." the girl said with a blank look on her face, causing the Pumpkin King to sweatdrop. "But it does sound like fun. I'll be sure to go and check it out." she said as her smile returned once more.

"Oh please do! And tell your friends too!" Jack said with a smile as he looked down at the girl.

"I'll be sure to do so." the harpist said with a nod. "It was nice talking with you your majesty. I hope we meet again." she said as she gave the skeleton a curtsy.

"I hope so as well. And please enjoy your time during the festival." he said with a nod.

"I will." she said with another smile. "Until next time..." she said giving another polite bow before she took her leave.

'_What a nice girl_.' Jack thought with a chuckle as he watched the girl walk away. '_Though there was this odd feeling I got from her. Oh well..._' he thought with a shrug and put the pumpkin back onto his head and resumed his previous position as a scarecrow.

**End Theme**

* * *

><p><strong><span>On the day of the festival!<span>**

**Play Undertale OST- Dating Start!**

It was the day of the festival and everyone was excited for it.

But none were more excited than the trio of Shinryu, Xion, and Terra. As well as the small, white Chocobo chick, Stardust.

The trio were wearing their Halloween costumes and were standing by the town's front gate in the city's Outer Garden, waiting for Terra's parents to arrive.

People were walking by them, heading into the city so they could enjoy the festival.

Shin was now wearing a pair of grey, low-rise jeans, a matching black neck brace and haramaki, and a long, navy blue trench coat with gold studs and a pair of matching boots. Emblazoned on the back of this coat was the Team Dai-Gurren logo, which was an image of a flaming red skull wearing a pair of sharp black sunglasses. He wasn't wearing a shirt, leaving his fairly well toned chest bare for all to see. And to complete the look was a pair of red tinted sunglasses that were in the shape of a star.

When asked about who he was supposed to be, he answered by stating that he was dressed as a hero named Simon, and then recited a quote that Simon was apparently known for.

Terra wore a skintight bodysuit covering everything up to her head; the suit itself was black with red circuit lines and asymmetrical turquoise highlights. To complete the look, she wore a long, curly light blue/pale blonde wig that reached down to her waist. She also wore a pair of contact lenses that were blue in color with pink cross-shaped pupils that resembled a flower.

When asked about her costume, she said that she was dressed as a woman named Nia who was apparently Simon's wife.

And as for Xion's costume, she wore a skintight black bodysuit that covered everything up to her head, and certainly showed off her girlish figure. She had three white buttons going down her chest, rounded hands that featured three spindly fingers each and white stripes on the wrists and ankles of her suit. Her face was now painted white with her eyes painted black to make the sockets appear to be hollow when she had them closed. She had rosy red cheeks, purple stripes that stretched from the bottom of her eyes to the top of her jaw and red lipstick painted on her lips in an exaggerated pucker. She even wore contact lenses that made it look like she had white irises without any pupils floating in a sea of black, for added effect. And as an added touch she had several broken black wires wrapped wire wrapped around her ankles and her wrists. Clipped to her waist was a white porcelain mask with the same features as her painted face.

When asked, she stated that she was a haunted Marionette.

Even Stardust was in on the fun since she was dressed up as a small pig-mole-like creature with grayish-brown fur, an odd star shaped mark in its rump, a small curly tail, and large black glasses covering its equally black eyes. The small Chocobo chick rode on Shins shoulder as he paced about impatiently.

"I can't wait to meet your parents Terra! I wonder what they're like?" Xion asked excitedly as she bounced in place, doing one thing to her her chest that could be summed up in two words... jiggle physics.

"They're amazing! I'm sure you two will love them!" the Mage said with a grin as she thought about her parents. She then noticed her raven-haired friend's... assets bouncing more than they should. "Um, Xion... Are you even wearing a bra under that suit?" she asked with a blush on her face, speaking softly so their male friend would not overhear them.

The ravenette immediately stopped bouncing in place, a blush becoming very visible on her cheeks despite all of the makeup she had on. "Are you?!" she asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Terra blushed brightly and quickly turned away from her friend. "Never mind!" she squeaked out as she crossed her arms over her chest as well.

Shin stopped his pacing and looked towards his two female friends, noticing their odd behavior. "Are you two okay?" he asked with some concern when he noticed their blushes.

"WE'RE FINE!" both girls said a bit too quickly and loudly, causing the boy to flinch.

Xion was soon able to get rid of her blush and looked at Shin. "Don't you think you should calm down a bit? We have plenty of time to enjoy the festival." she said as she uncrossed her arms from her chest and put her hands on her hips.

"How can I calm down when there's so much to do?! I want to do everything I can with you guys while the night is still young. Maybe we can even go trick or treating?!" the brunet wondered excitedly as he fidgeted in anticipation.

Terra could not help but giggle at her friend's childlike enthusiasm.

"Okay, it's official! You're obsessed with Halloween!" the ravenette said with an amused grin as she shook her head.

"Hey, I'm not obsessed! I just get really excited over holidays!" the boy said defensively.

"Right..." Xion said with a roll of her eyes as the spellcaster next to her giggled.

After waiting for a couple of minutes longer the now blonde Terra looked through the crowd until she spotted a familiar couple and let out an excited squeal.

Making their way towards the front gate of the city was a man and woman.

The man was tall and very buff looking with a grayish-tangelo skin tone and long, sea-greenish-gray hair pulled up into a ponytail. His dark violet eyes shone with strength and power.

The woman looked like an older version of Terra, only with long, sandy blonde locks and warm, honey-brown eyes.

It seemed that they both knew that it was Halloween and decided to attend in costume.

The man seemed to be a more monstrous version of himself with tufts of fur on his shoulders that matched his hair, clawed fingers, and digigrade legs with long talons on his toes, and a pair of horns upcoming out of his head. He wore a dark vermilion loincloth with an amber sash around his waist. He was of course shirtless, showing off the large, rippling muscles on his body. A fact that was made more intimidating since he towered over most average men.

The woman on the other hand was fairly petite in comparison. She wore a long-sleeved white and red corset top with the sleeves, shoulders, and chest area being white while the corset part was red. She wore a long red skirt that went down to her ankles and had on a pair of red flats. She had what looked to be a simple white cloak that went down to her waist wrapped around her shoulders, and atop her head was a red witch's hat. She also wore a pendant that was given to her by her husband when they had first met around her neck.

"Mom, Dad, over here!" Terra called out excitedly as she waved at the duo.

The couple, now identified as Terra's parents, looked over and saw a blonde young woman in a skin tight suit waving at them excitedly. Luckily they knew that it was their daughter since she had told them what she would look like ahead of time.

With smiles on their faces, they made their way towards the girl.

When her parents made it over, the Mage she immediately pulled them both into a tight hug.

"I missed you both so much!" the girl cried out happily as she held onto her mother and father.

"We missed you too sweetheart." Terra's mother said with a smile, happy to be holding her child in her arms once more.

"You guys look great! Especially you dad, your costume almost looks real!" the girl said in awe as she looked her father up and down.

"Right, it almost looks real..." the large man said nervously as he shared a brief look with his wife.

"So anyway..." the older blonde woman interjected with a clap of her hands. "Where are these friends you've been telling us about?" she asked with a smile on her face, excited that her normally shy daughter had made friends.

"Oh, they're right over here! Come on!" the currently blonde spellcaster said excitedly as she dragged her mother and father over to where her friends stood. "Guys, these are my parents! Mom, Dad, these are my friends!" she said with a smile as she gestured both groups to each other.

Terra's parents decided to introduce themselves first.

"Hello, I'm Terra's mother, Madeline, and this is her father, Maduin." the blonde woman said as she gestured to both herself and her husband respectively. "It's nice to finally meet you!" she said with a matronly smile on her face.

Xion popped up in front of the couple and stuck her hand out to them making sure to look her best friend's parents in the eyes. "It's nice to finally meet you both too! My name's Xion Alyson Stoner, but you can call me Xion. Terra's told us so much about you two!" she said excitedly as she shook Madeline's and Maduin's hands.

Madeline giggled at the girl's exuberance while Maduin arched a brow.

The ravenette noticed the man's expression and suddenly gained a sheepish look on her face. "Sorry. I can get a little excitable sometimes." she said with a sheepish smile as she scratched the back of her head.

"That's alright dear. Besides, you looked so adorable bouncing around so excitedly! It reminds me of when Terra was little!" Mrs. Branford said in a nostalgic tone as she remembered her daughter's childhood.

"Mom!" Terra cried out as a blush of embarrassment lit up her face.

Madeline giggled at her daughter's reaction and pinched her cheek. "But it's true! You were so adorable back then! And now look at you! You've grown into an absolute beauty!" she said as she looked over her little girl with a smile on her face. "Oh, how I wish you were small again so I can just spoil you!" she cried as she pulled Terra into a suffocating embrace.

"Please stahp...!" the currently blonde spellcaster said with an embarrassed wine, her voice slightly muffled by the older woman's body.

Everyone couldn't help but let out a few laughs at the scene.

Xion's laughing subsided and she looked at her friend with a small bit of envy in her eyes, despite the smile on her face.

Shin let out a few more chuckled before he deemed it appropriate to introduce himself. "I'm Shinryu Verus, but please, call me Shin." he said with a lopsided grin.

"It's nice to meet you Xion, Shin. Our daughter told us a great deal about you two." Madeline said with a smile.

Maduin looked over the boy's costume and raised a brow. "Why aren't you wearing a shirt young man?" he asked in a suspicious tone, his fatherly instincts telling him to make sure that this boy wasn't trying to seduce his only daughter.

The brunette looked himself over. "Why aren't you wearing a shirt?" he asked with a blank expression.

The large man faltered when he remembered his own attire. "Touché..." he said as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Terra then clapped her hands in order to get everyone's attention. "Well, now that we all know each other, let's enjoy the festival!" she said with a peppy expression on her face.

"Yes, let's go. After all, it's not too often you get to attend a celebration on an entirely different world." Terra's mother said with barely contained excitement.

With that the group made their way into the city so they could enjoy the festival.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Later!<span>**

Terra, along with her parents and two best friends, were wandering around the fair, enjoying everything that was to offer and swapping stories about their lives, or in Madeline's case, embarrassing stories about the young mage's childhood.

"...And that's what happened after Terra's first trip to a petting zoo!" the blonde woman said in amusement, causing both Shin and Xion to burst into laughter and Terra to hide her face in her hands with a whine of embarrassment.

"Mom...!" she said as she pulled her face out of her hands, her face flushed pink with humiliation. "I wish you would stop bringing that up!" she begged as she looked at the older woman.

"Tell that to the poor Moogle you nearly squeezed to death." Mrs. Branford said teasingly.

"I was just a kid, and I never saw a Moogle before then!" Terra said defensively. She didn't think she could be any more embarrassed than right now.

"You were six dear. And you absolutely refused to let go of it no matter what. Nothing we promised you would make you budge either!" the woman dressed as a witch said a sigh.

"We were only able to get you to let go of the thing after we bought a Moogle doll for you." Maduin stated with a chuckle.

"Wait, do you mean that old Moogle doll that Terra always keeps on her bed in her bedroom?" Xion asked as she looked at her friend with a curious expression on her face.

"Oh, you still sleep with Mr. Moggles honey? That's so adorable!" Madeline gushed as she giggled into her hand.

"Mom...!" the youngest of the Branford family cried out, face glowing a bright red.

Terra's father chuckled. "Madeline dear, please stop embarrassing our daughter. If her face gets any redder then people might mistake her for a tomato." the man said as he placed a hand on his wife's shoulder.

Unfortunately for Terra, her father's words didn't do much to alleviate her embarrassment.

"Oh, like you've never embarrassed our little girl before! Remember back when she was in middle school?" the older blonde woman asked with a smirk as she looked up towards her husband.

"Mom, please don't bring that up again!" the poor girl said with a tired groan.

"What happened when Terra was in middle school?" Xion asked curiously.

Shin was quite curious as well.

"You see there was this boy in her class that used to have this cute little crush on our daughter." she said as she reminisced about those simple days. "Well one day he tried to ask little Terra out, and unfortunately it was in front of her father. You can imagine where that went..." she said with a chuckle as her husband scratched his cheek with a clawed finger.

"He turned over protective and chased him off?" guessed the ravenette.

"Got it in one!" Terra's mother said with a chuckle as she tapped the tip of her nose with her finger.

"I was going to say no." Terra murmured softly.

"Well, enough about the past! Terra sweetie... How have things been since you moved here?" Madeline asked sweetly as she looked at her daughter.

The mage smiled, glad for the change in subject.

"Everything's been fine since I got here. I've been doing well in my studies and as you can see I have two great friends." she said with a smile as she gestured to said two friends.

"And have you been practicing your magic Terra?" Mr. Branford asked as he looked at his daughter.

"Well... Between keeping up with my studies and hanging out with Xion and Shin, I haven't really had the opportunity to practice all that much." the currently blonde spellcaster said sheepishly.

The girl's parents frowned.

"You said that you would keep practicing your magic Terra. It's not healthy keeping all of that energy pent up inside of you." Maduin said warningly.

"And if you're anything like your father..." Madeline muttered as she looked off to the side, completely unaware that she had said that out loud.

"Huh, what do you mean mom?" Terra asked in confusion, tilting her head to the side slightly.

"The older woman realized her slip and laughed nervously. "Oh, I just meant that your father gets antsy when he has too much pent up energy." she said as she scratched the back of her head.

"Anyway, all I ask is that you make the time to practice your magic starting tomorrow, okay?" Terra's father asked as he looked down at his daughter.

"Well I suppose that I can sign onto some extracurricular magic classes so I could get some more practice in." the mage said as she put a finger to her chin in thought.

"Say, I'm getting hungry. Why don't we get something to eat?" Madeline suggested as she looked between her husband, her daughter, and her daughter's friends.

"I could go for something." Shin said as he placed a hand over his stomach.

"Me too!" Xion said in agreement.

* * *

><p><strong><span>A Few Minutes later!<span>**

The three friends along with the mage's parents were seated in front of a small, local restaurant, enjoying their meals together.

Madeline was enjoying a simple salad while both her husband and daughter had large hamburgers that looked to weigh a little more than one pound each.

Xion and Shin, who opted to have some hotdogs, couldn't help but gape at their currently blonde friend as she practically inhaled her burger, already having finished it in under less than a minute, and was now eating the side dish of french fries.

"I'm surprised that she could eat something that big... Usually her meals are a lot smaller." the brunet said with a sweatdrop.

"I know Terra has a pretty big appetite for someone of her size, but sometimes I wonder where all of that weight goes?" the puppet-girl asked with her head tilted towards the right, a confused expression on her face.

Said Mage then noticed the looks she was receiving from her two friends and blushed sheepishly.

"Terra's mother chuckled and shook her head in amusement. "My daughter has a lot of energy that she has to expel regularly. Because of this, she had inherited her father's rather large appetite. She'd wolf down anything that'd give her a lot of calories to burn." she said teasingly as she looked at her daughter. She then licked her right thumb and used it to wipe of some ketchup that was on the spellcaster's left cheek. "I just wish that you didn't inherit your father's table manners as well." she said with a sigh.

"Mom!" the girl said as her face reddened from the embarrassment, earning a few laughs from her friends and mother.

"I can't help but feel jealous of her sometimes. Even though she eats a lot, she barely gains a pound! I have to work out and go on jogs every few days just to keep in shape!" Xion said with a pout, earning some chuckles from the boy sitting next to her.

"So anyway, Maduin and I heard quite a bit about you two from the letters Terra had sent us. Would you mind telling us a bit more about yourselves?" the woman asked as she enjoyed her soup.

"Sure." the ravenette said with a nod after she took a sip from her soda. "What do you want to know?" she asked curiously.

"Just some general information really. What you three do when you hang out with each other? Do you have any hobbies? And how do you like your time at the academy? Things like that." the blonde said with a shrug.

"Madeline and I really want to know how our daughter's been fairing here on her own. And what kind of friends she's socialized with." Maduin stated as he finished his meal.

"Well in order, Terra, Shin, and I usually spend our time in the Castle Garden or simply walking around town talking about whatever. As for hobbies, I guess collecting seashells would fit. I love to hear the sound of the ocean. And as for school, most of my classes are interesting, and I share a few with Terra and Shin. I don't mean to brag or anything but, I'm one of the top students in my year." Xion said with a small, smug smirk on her face.

"Being number seven on the academy's academic rankings isn't that big of a deal." Shin said with a shrug as he ate a few french fries that came with his meal.

The ravenette's glare vanished and she sent a small glare towards the boy.

"I studied hard to get where I am! And if you put in just as much work as I did in all of your classes, then you'd easily reach the top ten!" the girl said with a frown as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Oh, is he not doing well?" Madeline asked in concern.

"Actually, he has top marks in most of his classes. But only in his elective classes and those he has an interest in. Every other class he's usually around the middle." Xion said with a shrug.

"It's not like there will be a situation in my life where I'll need advanced algebra or linguistics to solve a problem in the future." Shin said with a nonchalant shrug.

"Hey, you never know!" the raven-haired puppet-girl said with a frown as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Anyway, what about you Shin?" Terra's mother asked as she turned her gaze towards the boy.

"Well, like Xion said earlier, we tend to hang out together in the Castle Garden, eating lunch, or playing with the Pokémon that live there. And we often just walk around town doing whatever we feel like doing. I don't have that many hobbies aside from reading, caring for the Chocobo up at the stables, and occasionally playing some of the videogames I have in my collection. And I have an alright experience at school. Some of my classes can get pretty boring though." Shin said with a shrug.

"Thank you for telling us a bit about yourselves. I feel like I've gotten to know you two a little better. You've certainly picked some good friends Terra." the blonde woman said as she turned her gaze over towards her daughter with a grin on her face.

"It was a pleasure. It's nice to actually meet the people who raised Terra." Shin said with a small smile on his face.

"It seems that the both of you are good friends to our daughter." Maduin said with a nod before he crossed his arms over his chest. "But if I may ask, how capable are you two in battle?" he asked as he crossed his hands over his chest.

Although they were a little caught off guard by the question, Xion and Shin decided to answer anyway.

"Well I'm not the strongest guy around or anything, but I'm no slouch either. I mainly stick to a greatsword, but I can improvise with something else if need be. I like to plan ahead and set traps, making sure to get my opponents into a favorable position before setting my traps off. I'm also fairly decent with magic focusing mainly on offensive magic with Spellblade being my go to spell to use. I also know some defensive and supportive buffs to keep things balanced." the brown-haired boy said as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"It sounds like you have your bases covered." Terra's father replied with a nod.

"I guess..." the boy said with a shrug.

"And you young lady?" the giant man asked as he turned his gaze towards Xion.

"Hmm, well I'm fairly competent in most weapon types, but I usually prefer using standard swords. I'm fairly swift and agile. I make it a point to keep moving. After all, a moving opponent is harder to hit. I'm also pretty confident in my magical ability. I mainly focus on offensive magic, but I also know some defensive and debuff magic as well. All in all, I think I'd be a good front line fighter, even though I don't have the highest durability, sort of like a Scout Class." the ravenette said with a shrug.

"Hmm, I see... The both of you sound quite capable." Maduin said thoughtfully as he had his arms crossed over his chest.

"Um, question..." Xion said as she scratched her right temple with her right index finger. "Why exactly did you suddenly ask us about our battle capabilities?" she asked with confusion clear on her face.

"Oh that? I simply wanted to see if you were both capable of keeping Terra safe while she is enrolled in your school." the man replied as he looked at his daughter's two best friends.

"Huh?" the two replied quizzically.

"Madeline and I have cared for and protected Terra all of her life. But we will no longer be able to do so simply because we'll be an entire world away after tomorrow." the giant man said with a sigh.

"And we don't have enough Gil to move here to be with our little girl." Madeline added sadly.

"So you want us to take care of her for you?" Shin asked curiously.

Both parents nodded.

"Mom, dad, I know you love me, and that you worry about me, but I can take care of myself." Terra said with a small frown as she looked at her mother and father.

"We know that sweetheart, but there's a chance that someone would try to take advantage of you in the future. Your father and I would feel a lot better if we knew that someone was here to keep you safe." the older blonde woman said as she placed a hand atop her daughter's hand.

"Hey, don't worry! We'll keep Terra safe for you guys. She is our friend after all." Xion said with a assuring grin.

"You have my word that we won't let anything bad happen to her." Shin said with a determined nod.

"That's all we ask." Terra's mother said with a grateful nod.

After that, the group went off to continue enjoying the festival.

They greatly enjoyed themselves with all of the games and activities that were available, especially mr. and Mrs. Branford, who were glad to spend some quality time with their daughter after not seeing her in several months.

This carried on until Xion suddenly remembered something.

"Wait! What time is it?!" the ravenette asked in a panicked tone.

"Around 6:40... Why do you ask?" Terra asked curiously.

"I promised that I would meet up with Roxas at the Central Square at seven! Oh, gods! I'm going to be late!" the girl said in a panic.

"Um, I don't mean to be rude but... Who's Roxas?" Madeline asked in confusion.

"Roxas is one of Xion's other friends, and she sort of has a date with him." Shin said as he scratched the back of his head while watching his raven-haired friend panic about missing her date with her crush.

"Aww that's cute! It must be her first date if she's so worried about not being on time." the older blonde woman whispered to her husband with a giggle before she looked towards the panicking girl. "You know, you still might be able to make it on time." she said with a smile.

"Ah, right! I still might be able to meet up with him if I leave now." Xion said with relief before turning to look at the present married couple. "I'll see you guys later okay. And it was nice meeting the both of you! I'm sorry that I have to cut my time with you so short." she said hurriedly as she gave a brief, but polite bow.

"It's alright. Now hurry up or you'll be late!" Terra's mother said with a giggle.

"Right! See you later!" the girl said and proceeded to hightail it towards the city's Central Square, anxious to get her date started.

"She must really like this boy." the blonde woman said with a chuckle.

"You have no idea! It's super obvious that she likes him, but unfortunately he's just about as dense as his brother." Terra said with a sigh.

"Kind of reminds me of someone else I knew." the woman said as she looked at her husband through the corner of her eye.

"What do you mean by that?" the man asked with a frown on his face.

"Oh nothing!" Terra's mother said a giggle. "Anyway, speaking of dates... Is there anyone you have any interest in Terra?" she asked teasingly as she turned her gaze towards her daughter.

The spellcaster blushed at the question. "Mom!" she cried out indignantly as she sent a glare at her mother.

"I didn't hear a no!" the older blonde said with a teasing grin on her face, prompting her daughter's blush to darken slightly.

"She better not be interested in any boy! I don't want you dating until _AFTER_ you're married!" Maduin said with a scowl on his face. (If you can get the reference then you get a virtual cookie.)

"Dad! That doesn't even make any sense!" the currently blonde Mage cried out in embarrassment as her face darkened in color some more.

Finding the station quite hilarious, Shin couldn't help but start laughing.

"Shin!" Terra cried out feeling even further embarrassed by her friend's laughter. She ended up hiding her face behind her hands in an attempt to escape the humiliation.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Meanwhile elsewhere!<span>**

It was now sundown and one Yuki Fenrir was currently standing by a small food stall called Muffet's pastries awaiting the order he placed.

Like most others attending the festival, he too wore a costume. He wore a simple white kimono with a gray lining on the sleeves and outer edge of his clothes tied together with a white sash as well as a pair of wooden sandals, called geta. Under the kimono he wore black hakama and a black undershirt. His normally long, shaggy white hair was pulled into a topknot/ponytail with a few bangs hanging over his forehead. And to complete the look, he had a wooden bokken strapped to his right hip.

At the moment, he was waiting for his friends to arrive so they could enjoy the festival together.

"Here's your order, and please continue to support the spider fundraiser! Ahuhuhuhuhu!" the person manning the stall said with a titter.

The person in question was actually a spider-monster with purple skin, five pitch black eyes, small fangs poking out from her upper lips, and six arms. She wore a red dress with pantaloons at the bottom, buttons in the front, a red ribbon across her chest, as well as two more ribbons in her dark purple hair, which was pulled into a pair of pigtails on either side of her head. She was holding a teacup and a teapot in two of her arms. (Many of you will know her from Undertale.)

The boy gave a polite nod before he turned away. "I hope they get here soon. It's no fun doing all of this alone." he said as he bit into the cinnamon roll he bought.

He watched watched as the crowd moved along on their own business, many wearing various costumes, others not. He even made up a little mental game about how many times he saw people wearing the same costumes.

At the moment he was at twenty ghosts, fifteen zombies, sixteen vampires, and nine witches.

Just then someone walked up to the boy.

"You can't go five minutes without eating one of those, can you?" a familiar male voice asked as its owner approached the albino.

The young samurai turned his gaze to the side and saw none other than Damon standing near him with a corn dog in hand.

Damon seemed to be wearing a costume as well. Though if Yuki was honest, he would think that the older boy was wearing a slight variation of his normal attire.

The Head of the Disciplinary Committee's attire now consisted of a black, 3/4-length, hooded leather jacket with red interior linings and the British Union flag sewn on the left arm, a gray tanktop, black fingerless gloves, black faded jeans, black military boots, and a necklace reminiscent of half of the Perfect Amulet that was a well known accessory of a certain pizza eating Devil Hunter.

Following behind the boy was an annoyed looking girl with dark brown hair and matching eyes.

It was much more apparent that the girl was wearing a costume since no girl in her right mind would wear such an outfit in this brisk weather.

Her attire seemed to be themed around a Sailor Senshi uniform. She wore a white form hugging leotard that clung to her fit, slender frame. Attached to the leotard was a pleated deep blue miniskirt that reached down to the middle of her thighs. She wore deep blue knee-length high heeled boots and a pair of elbow-length white gloves with deep blue cuffs on the hems. On her chest was a large deep blue ribbon with what seemed to be a small heart shaped pin in the center of it. And to complete the look, she wore a dark blue choker, and a silver tiara with an engraving of a heart in the center on her forehead. Her long, dark brown hair was pulled up into a ponytail that was held up by a blue ribbon.

When he finished looking over the two, Yuki replied to his friend. "You're one to talk. You eat Strawberry Cinnamon Swirl ice cream every chance you get." he said coolly as he continued to eat his cinnamon roll.

Damon flinched. "I don't have to justify myself to you!" he said as he glared at the smirking albino boy.

He then reared his gaze onto his female apprentice when he heard her giggle in amusement.

"Don't get all giggly there Princess! Last I checked, you were a glutton for donuts and italian pastries!" he said with his hands on his hips. Smirk appeared on his face when he saw the brunette balk at the remark.

"S-shut up! I can't help but like stuff that I think taste good!" she said with an embarrassed blush on her cheeks as she turned her head away with a pout and crossed her arms over her chest.

"So... Who're you supposed to be?" the Head of the Disciplinary Committee asked as he eyed his younger friend's costume.

"I'm Samurai Jack. Isn't that obvious?" Yuki asked in an annoyed tone.

"No, not really." the black-haired boy said with a shrug.

The young samurai simply frowned. "And you're supposed to be...?" he asked as he gestured to his older friend's costume.

"Dante from DmC: Devil May Cry." Damon said with a frown, clearly not pleased by the choice.

Yuki was silent for a moment. "That's rough." he said sympathetically as he shook his head. "Why did you even choose to wear that anyway?" he asked with an arched brow.

"It wasn't my idea if that's what you're thinking. Princess here was the one who made me wear it." the Head of the Disciplinary Committee said as he gestured towards said girl with his thumb.

"So as revenge, you made her dress up as a Sailor Senshi." the albino boy stated as he looked at Karly.

"Yep, it was either this, or I make her dress up as Quiet! And please call her Sailor Fantasia." the black-haired boy said with a smirk.

Yuki gave a brief scoff-like chuckle. "You truly are an ass of the highest caliber." he shook his head and finished his cinnamon roll.

"You know me!" Damon said with a nonchalant shrug.

"There he is! And look, Damon's there too!" an excited female voice said from nearby as a pair of familiar girls approached.

The trio looked over to see none other than Yuki's two female friends Nova and Koneko quickly making their way towards them.

Koneko's costume looked to be that of a classic ninja attire. It was comprised of a navy blue kimono top that had long sleeves that completely covered her arms and and was held closed by a navy blue sash. Under her top was what looked to be a mesh shirt. She wore long baggy navy blue pants with the bottom of the legs taped closed above her ankles, creating a slight ballooning effect, and a pair of navy blue, open-toed ninja sandals. She wore a navy blue cloth face mask that covered her neck and half of her face, including her nose. To complete the look, she had a kusarigama hanging on her right hip, and a white porcelain mask designed to look like a cat hanging on her left hip.

Nova's costume was clearly themed after the likeness of the Super Sentai. She wore a red and white body suit with a built in red skirt and the symbol of a golden Phoenix emblazoned proudly on her chest. The front of the torso was white while everything else was colored red. She had on a pair of ankle length white boots and short white gloves, each with red linings. And to complete the look, she wore a red and gold helmet that was shaped to look somewhat like the emblem on her chest. The helmet's visor was molded to look like it rested in the Phoenix's 'beak', with the bird's 'eyes' resting above the black colored glass. And under the visor was a simple silver faceplate that was smooth and featureless.

Upon seeing the new arrivals the two boys waved at them.

"Finally found you guys!" Nova said in a happy tone before she rested her hands on her hips. "What happened Yuki? We were looking for you for forever!" she said with in annoyance. Everyone could easily imagine the pout that was likely on her face under the helmet she wore.

"I've been waiting right here for close to a half an hour. It's not my fault that you got lost." Yuki said with a shrug.

"I told you that we should have taken a left!" Koneko said as she looked towards her friend with her hands on her hips.

"Oh, come on guys, cut me some slack! I have like, no peripheral vision with this helmet!" the redhead said with a huff.

"That doesn't explain why you keep getting lost every other time." the catgirl said in a teasing manner.

"Stop it!" the tall girl whined as she stomped her foot on the ground.

Yuki, Koneko, and Damon all had a laugh at their friend's expense.

Karly watched the scene feeling a little out of place. She could plainly see how close these four were.

Once the ebony-haired catgirl finished laughing she spotted Karly standing next to Damon.

"So who's your friend Damon?" she asked in a curious tone as she leaned forward slightly and clasped her hands behind her back.

The Head of Disciplinary Committee chuckled and patted the brunette on the head. "This is my young protégé Karly, but you can call her Sailor Fantasia for now." he said in his usual carefree manner.

"You really want me to knock your block off, huh?!" Karly said with a malicious smile as she cracked her knuckles.

"You are so adorable when you're mad!" Damon said with a grin as he pinched the girl's cheek.

"Why you...!" the brunette growled angrily as she attempted to punch the Head of the Disciplinary Committee in the face, only for him to easily dodge it.

Yuki watched as the girl began to argue with his friend. He could not help the chuckle that left his throat, nor the small, ghost of a smile that appeared on his face.

Just then, he briefly noticed something out of the corner of his eye. He quickly turned his head to see whatever it was he had noticed and was able to catch a flash of long, snow-white hair.

His eyes widened and he did a double take to make sure that he did not mistake what he saw for something else. But when he looked again, there was no one in the crowd with such vibrant white hair.

'Was that...?' he thought before he shook his head. 'No. It was just my eyes playing tricks on me.' he thought dismissively as he brought his focus back towards his friends.

But in the back of his mind, an uneasy feeling had settled in.

**End Theme**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Later that night!<span>**

The time was now seven o'clock at night and Xion was currently on her way to meet up with Roxas since the two had made a sort of unofficial date the other day and she was looking forward to spending time with the blond.

Even though it was nighttime, the festival looked like it was not going to slow down any time soon.

After walking for several more minutes, she soon found herself in the Central Square.

It took her only a few moments to spot her date since he was standing in front of the scarecrow that stood at the center of the square.

Roxas's costume consisted primarily of a green tunic with chainmail armor over a long-sleeved white undershirt. He had a pair of beige slacks, shin-length, brown leather boots, brown leather arm guards, blue fingerless gloves, and most notably, a distinct green cap that sat upon his head. On his back was a toy version of the Hylian shield and a replica of the Master Sword.

With a smile on her face the ravenette made her way to the blond.

The boy soon noticed someone approaching him and he looked over to see Xion making her way towards him.

"Hey Xion, glad you made it." he greeted with a smile on his face.

"Me too. I've been looking forward to this for a while." the girl said excitedly.

"Then let's go have some fun!" the boy said excitedly as he took the ravenette's hand.

With that, the duo went off to enjoy the festival.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Later!<span>**

The duo spent the next couple of hours going through the stalls, eating food and playing games.

The food ranged from items one would commonly find in most festivals. From hot dogs to cotton candy, they had everything. The amount of games there was even more extensive, from scooping fish, to toss objects onto and at stacked bottles. There was certainly a lot to do.

At the moment Roxas was at one of the many game stalls shooting pellets at the many small targets that were moving about with a toy rifle. Xion stood next to him, casually nibbling on a corn dog as she watched in amusement as her date tried to win a prize for her. Mask clipped onto her right hip so she could eat without it getting in the way.

There were ten small targets moving from side to side. They were set in two rows, one set above the others.

Hanging all over the booth was a large collection of stuffed animals ranging from simple teddy bears, all the way to Tonberries, Chocobo, and even Moogles. Which was ironic considering that the stand was manned by a Moogle.

But despite the blond's best efforts, he kept missing every target. This carried on until the toy rifle he was using ran out of pellets to fire.

"Looks like you're out of ammo, Kupo!" the Moogle that was running the stand chirped as it floated behind the counter. "You can play again for another ten Munny, Kupo!" it said as its nose twitched.

"Give me another round! I'm winning that stuffed animal!" the boy said as he slammed the Munny onto the counter.

"You really don't have to do this Roxas." the girl said with a giggle.

"I said I was going to win a prize for you, and I'm sure as heck going to get one!" the blond said as he began firing at the small moving targets once more.

And like before, he missed every target until he ran out of ammo.

"Game over, Kupo!" cried the Moogle.

Roxas growled in frustration and slammed the rifle onto the counter.

Xion let out another giggle and patted her date on the shoulder.

"It's okay Roxas. Not everyone can be a marksman." she said consolingly.

The ravenette then turned her gaze towards the toy rifle.

"Why don't you give him another chance?" she asked in a sweet tone as she looked at the Moogle.

Said Moogle put a stubby arm to its chin in thought before looking back to a sulking Roxas.

"Okay, since I like you kid, I'm giving you another shot. On the house!" the small creature said as it reloaded the rifle and held it out to the blond.

The boy looked at the gun for a moment and took it into his hands. He looked at his date and saw her give him an encouraging nod. He looked back at the targets as they began to move again and took aim. But before he could fire the rifle, he felt Xion wrap her arms around his shoulder and adjust his hold on the rifle.

"Your hold on it isn't firm enough. The butt of the rifle needs to be against your shoulder to add support and lessen the effect of recoil." she said softly into his ear as she propped the but of the rifle against his right shoulder. "Make sure to keep your gun level with your eyesight. Be sure to aim with both eyes open. And don't forget to keep your breathing calm." she whispered as she mover the barrel up to the boy's eye level. "Also, don't aim at where each target is at. Instead aim at where they're going." she said with a small smirk.

The boy nodded and gulped in nervousness. Not only from the pressure of hitting the targets, but also feeling the ravenette's chest against his back.

He quickly shook it off and took aim.

With his date's advice in mind, he calmed his breathing, kept the rifle level and followed the path of each target, trying to predict when and where they would be.

"Aim with both eyes open..." he muttered to himself as he opened his left eye and cocked back the hammer.

Time seemed to slow for several brief moments. He was aware of everything that was going on around him, from the rabble of the crowds walking about, the noise of the all of the games and food stands, even feeling Xion's soft breaths on the back of his neck, and the beating of her heart. He tuned all of it out and focused on one of the targets as it slowed to a crawl. Just as it seemingly stop in place, his eyes widened and he pulled the trigger, sending a pellet towards the space just ahead of the target.

Time sped back up and the pellet struck the target with an audible ding, knocking it over in the process.

"You did it Roxas! I knew you could do it!" Xion cheered happily as she hugged the boy from behind.

The blond couldn't help but grin at his accomplishment.

With his confidence restored, Roxas proceeded to hit the rest of the targets, only missing a small handful of times.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Later!<span>**

The couple was later seen walking through the busy crowd happily chatting about whatever came to mind. In the ravenette's arms was an adorable Tonberry King plushy. She was wearing her mask again.

The two were enjoying their time together until a sudden thought came to the boy's head.

"Hey Xion..." he called out, earning the girl's attention. "Where did you learn all of that stuff about shooting guns anyway?" he asked curiously.

"Uh, well you see I'm interested in learning to use guns. And not too long ago, I ran into Vincent and he taught me the basics on using handguns and rifles." she said as she sheepishly scratched the back of her head.

"Who's Vincent?" Roxas asked with an arched brow.

"You remember that guy in the red cloak from that big test not too long ago?" she asked prompting the blond to not. "That's Vincent."

"Oh..." Roxas said in realization and nodded his head. "I guess it helps to have a lot of skills." he said with a smile as he scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah, it does." the ravenette agreed with a nod.

The couple continued on in silence until noticed Xion noticed a familiar face in the crowd up ahead.

"Hey, isn't that your brother?" she asked as she looked at the blond while pointing up ahead.

Roxas looked up ahead and indeed saw his brother talking animatedly with someone.

Sora's costume was themed after a Vampire. The outfit was almost completely black, appearing to be made of faded leather. He wore white gloves and had clawed fingers, the shoulders of his jacket were grey, and he had very small, black, bat wings on his upper back. His normal shoes were replaced with large, black ones with pointed toes and a grey stripe on their midsections. His legs were wrapped in what appeared to be black and red bandages. Sora's canines had become more pointed and his face, particularly the area around his eyes, was much more ashen and shadowed in appearance. His hair was a darker shade of brown and he wore an orange mask on the right side of his face, covering his right eye. The mask was circular with small horns on the top, a jagged, jack o' lantern-esque mouth, and triangular eyes. The mask's right eye was green and the left one appeared to be closed or scratched out.

"Yeah, it looks like it." the blond said as he watched his brother talk with a girl dressed as a nurse.

"Let's go talk to him!" the girl chirped out excitedly as she ran on ahead.

"Hey, wait up!" the boy called out as he chased after his date.

It didn't take long for the duo to reach the costumed brunet.

"Hey Sora." Roxas called out as he and Xion approached the duo, earning their attention.

"Hey Roxas, how's your date coming along?" Sora asked with a grin as he turned to look at his twin.

"So far, so good." the blond said as he scratched the back of his head.

"That's great to hear. I'm glad that you're putting yourself out there." the vampire boy said with a grin as he put his hands behind his head.

"Are you suggesting that I can't get a girlfriend if I tried?!" the blond asked as he crossed his arms over his chest, an annoyed frown on his face.

"That's not what I'm saying!" Sora said as he shook his hands in front of him.

Xion and the nurse-girl couldn't help but giggle at the scene.

"Speaking of dates, where's yours Sora? I thought you would be walking around with Kairi?" Xion asked as she looked around the the auburnette princess.

The nurse-girl giggled again.

"I'm right here Xion!" the girl said as she wave at the puppet-girl

It took only a moment for Roxas and Xion to recognize that the girl was actually Kairi.

Surprisingly, Kairi was dressed as a Nurse from Silent Hill. A horror themed costume was the last thing they expected.

The princess wore a simple white nurse's outfit that was comprised of just a button-up dress, a small hat, and high-heeled shoes, all of which were dirty with dirt and dried blood. Several of the top buttons of the dress were undone to show a risqué amount of cleavage. Her normally tanned and healthy skin was deathly pale, also stained with dirt and dried blood. Her entire head was wrapped up with filthy bandages, hiding nearly all of her features, save for her right eye, which had a red contact lense and make up around it to make her eye look bloodshot and somewhat sunken in. The only real means of identifying her were several strands of her auburn hair sticking out from several small gaps in the bandages.

"Kairi?! No way! We didn't even recognize you!" the ravenette said as she and her date jolted back in shock.

The princess giggled again. "You can thank Naminé for that. She's a pretty good makeup artist too." she said as she put her hands on her hips.

Roxas let out a chuckle. "I'll say. I never once imagined that you could wear something so risqué and scary." he said as he scratched his right cheek.

"You should have seen the look on Sora's face when he first saw me." Kairi said with a giggle as she elbowed her date, who stuttered in embarrassment.

"So how's your date going Kairi?" Xion asked curiously.

"It's going swell! Sora and I are having a lot of fun." the Princess of Radiant Garden said with a smile on her face, though it was unseen by all of the bandages.

"That's good. Otherwise helping you two get together would have been for nothing." the puppet-girl said with a chuckle.

Kairi laughed and shook her head. "Anyway, Sora and I were about to head off towards the haunted house." she said as she crossed her arms under her breasts and shifted her weight onto her right leg.

"Haunted house?" Roxas asked curiously.

"Yeah, they turned most of the castle into a haunted house for the festival." explained Sora.

"And admission is free too." added the auburn-haired girl.

"Sounds like fun, mind if we tag along?" Xion asked politely.

"We don't mind." Kairi said as she shook her head.

"The more the merrier!" Sora said with a grin.

"Alright then, let's get going then." Roxas said excitedly.

With that, the four costumed teens began to make their way towards the castle.

**End Theme**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Meanwhile, at the castle!<span>**

The hour had grown late, but the city was still lively and bright. And there was no indication that it would be quieting down anytime soon.

The castle of Radiant Garden in particular was very lively at the moment. Many of the townsfolk were walking in and out of the great building, laughing and moving about with excitement.

For the festival, much of the castle had been turned into a haunted house and was open to the public.

Standing guard at the front door were Dilan and Aeleus, the ever loyal guards of Ansem the Wise.

They were done up to look like a pair of stone gargoyles. The only difference was that Dilan had wings and Aeleus did not.

They watched the people walk by them in silence, keeping a lookout for anything that could be considered remotely suspect.

So far, there was nothing out of the ordinary happening. And it looked like they will be enjoying another peaceful night.

"Excuse me..." a voice called out in a curious tone.

Both men turned their heads and saw a beautiful young woman standing before them.

What they saw was a fairly attractive young woman that appeared to be around sixteen or so with waist-length, snow-white hair flowing down her back like a curtain, with a small light blue snowflake-shaped headpiece on the left side of her head. She had a pair of hauntingly beautiful icy blue eyes with nearly indistinguishable blue pupils of a slightly darker color, and pale, nearly snow white, skin with rosy cheeks, pale, slightly blue lips, and small, faint freckles. She stood at a good 5'2" and had a modest figure with C-cup breasts, an average waist size, wide hips, and long, creamy legs. Her attire consisted of an elegant, floor-length, light blue furisode-style kimono depicting a blizzard on it with long, draping sleeves, a baby blue obi sash with depictions of white snowflakes on it, white tabi socks, and geta sandals. Tied to her obi sash was a small lyre-like harp that was seemingly made of a crystal-like substance.

"Is there something we can help you with?" Dilan asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Is the castle opened to the public right now? I've been wandering about enjoying the festival, and I wanted to see this place at least once before the night ended." the girl said in a soft, gentle tone.

"Yes it is. The castle will be open for a few more hours." the Dragoon said politely while his violet eyes looked over the seemingly harmless girl before him.

"Wonderful!" she said excitedly as she clapped her hands together.

Aeleus frowned and looked towards his companion.

"Dilan... You can feel it too, right? This girl... There is something... Off about her." he said as he turned his blue eyes towards the petit albino girl.

The Dreadlocked Dragoon gave a curt nod before he turned to look at the mysterious girl just as she began to make her way into the castle.

But before she could make it passed the two men, they moved their weapons and used them to bar her entry.

Shocked at the action, the harpist stepped back, eyes wide.

"What is the meaning of this?!" she asked looking frightened.

"Do you take us for fools girl? It's clear to us that you aren't human. The presence you exude is much too dark." Dilan said with narrowed eyes.

"We will not do you harm. But if you came here with malicious intent, then we will have no choice but to apprehend you." Aeleus stated sternly.

The frightened look melted away from the girl's face, replaced by a cold, blank expression. "So you intend to get in my way. Pity... I was hoping that I would be able to complete my plans without any issue. But since you two want to give so much trouble, then I have no choice..." she said as she fixed some of her hair back into its proper place after it was blown about by a soft breeze.

Both guards tensed, ready for whatever the girl had planned.

"I hope you can find it within yourselves to forgive me." she said with a smile, but unlike the ones she gave before, this smile felt... wrong.

Before either guard could act, everything suddenly felt... cold.

Within the blink of an eye, Dilan, Aeleus, as well as the entire area and all of the people in it were all encased by thick ice.

"You shouldn't have made it so difficult." the girl said with a huff as as she pouted in annoyance.

With that, girl made her way into the castle.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Some Time Later<span>**

The mysterious girl now wandered through the hallways of the castle at a leisurely pace, singing softly as she strummed her crystaline harp.

Luckily she was able to sneak out of the haunted house part of the castle and into the empty hallways without anyone noticing.

"It's never satisfied, it's pulling strings of life tonight. So many tears it's cried, I wonder what it's thinking..." she sang as she walked down a lavishly decorated hallway. "Its painted faces is all I see, they're always haunting me! It's pulling strings of life tonight, it sleeps... please buy us time, oh please rewind, a tainted rhyme!" she sang softly, her gentle voice carrying the haunting melody down the halls for anyone to hear. (Song and Lyrics owned by Trickywii)

She soon came to an intersection with another hallway and stopped to look down each hall, trying to decide which way she should go next.

"I need to reach the highest point possible in this place, so which hall should I choose?" she muttered to herself in thought.

"Hey! You're not supposed to be over here!" a voice called out as several guards came running down the right hall towards her.

The harpist let out a sigh and looked to her right down the hall that the guards were running down. "Can't I get things done in peace?" she asked herself in annoyance as she pointed her right hand at the hall, palm facing forward. "Diamond Dust." she said coolly just before a powerful gust of freezing wind shot out of her palm and covered the entire hallway and everything in it in ice.

The guards were now encased in ice, several even had fearful expressions on their faces.

"Well it looks like I can't go that way." she said with a sigh before she pick one of the remaining hallways and walked down it, strumming her harp and humming softly.

She wandered through the halls for about an hour, looking for a suitable place to hold her performance. So far she did not have much luck.

Along the way she froze any servants and guards she came across.

She let out another sigh as she encased yet another guard in ice. "Why is it so hard to find a place where I can perform in peace?" she asked herself as she walked down one of the lesser used corridors.

The white-haired girl continued down the hall until she came upon a pair of large, intricately designed doors.

"Hmm, maybe I can find some peace in this room?" the harpist said with an arched eyebrow.

After contemplating on whether to enter the room or not, she ultimately shrugged her shoulders and pushed the doors opened.

The room she found herself in seemed to be a large, lavishly furnished room that looked like it hadn't been in use long while. There was a small red couch sitting in front of a large fireplace. The entire floor was covered in soft carpeting and had several bookshelves propped against the walls. Opposite to the fireplace was a set of large glass doors that led out to a large balcony. The only sign that the room was still being maintained was that there were several half-melted, lit candles, which cast the room in a soft light. Above the mantle of the fireplace was a painting of a beautiful woman with long auburn hair with deep indigo eyes.

A smile appeared on the girl's face as she looked the room over.

"I think this will do nicely!" she said giddily as she closed the doors behind her.

* * *

><p><strong><span>At the castle doors!<span>**

**Play Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories OST- Scent of Silence**

"What the heck happened here?!" Sora asked in shock as he looked over the scene.

"Everything's been frozen over!" Roxas said as he investigated one of the masses of ice, which appeared to have people stuck inside of it.

"Do you think they're all still alive?" Xion asked curiously as she looked over a frozen Dilan. She stared at the frozen dragoon for several moments before his eyes moved to look at her, causing the girl to jump back. "Yep! They still are!" she said as she had a hand on her chest in an attempt to calm her racing heart.

"Let's get him out of there!" Kairi said as she began to chip away at the ice that encased the guard.

The quartet spent the next few minutes chipping away at the ice with both fire spells and whatever they had on hand.

Kairi sent one last strong fire spell at the ice and it shattered, freeing Dilan from his prison.

"Are you okay?" Xion asked in concern as she kneeled down next to the shivering man.

"W-we were b-blindsided by a girl..." the Dreadlocked Dragoon said through chattering teeth.

"A girl?" Sora asked with an arched brow. He found it hard to believe that someone as big as Dilan getting overpowered by a girl. Then again, he knew plenty of strong women, present company included.

"She was unlike any normal young woman we've ever encountered." the man said as he sat down in an attempt to catch his breath. "She may look harmless, but the fact that she was able to freeze us without any effort proves otherwise." he said with a grunt.

Sora frowned. "We should go stop her! She can't go around freezing people!" he said looking determined to seek this mysterious girl out.

"No!" the guard said loudly, causing the boy to flinch. "She is much too dangerous! Once Aeleus and all of these people have been freed, we are going to call for backup." he said sternly as he looked at the four teenagers.

"But!" the brown-haired vampire said in an attempt to argue.

"No buts!" rebutted the man.

Sora slumped over with a sigh.

"Umm, guys..." Xion called out in a disbelieving tone.

"What's wrong Xion?" Roxas asked in concern as he looked at his raven-haired friend.

"Can anyone explain to me why it's snowing right now?" the girl asked as she looked at everyone else.

Confused at the puppet-girl's question, Sora, Kairi, Roxas, and Dilan looked up into the sky and saw that it was indeed snowing, and quite heavily at that.

"What the heck?! The whether forecast didn't say anything about snow!" Kairi said in shock.

"Not only that... But I think I hear music too." the ravenette said as she put a hand to her ear.

And like she said, there was a somber, almost haunting, melody flowing through the air all around them.

"I have a sneaking suspicion that things are only going to get worse." the Dreadlocked Dragoon said with a frown as he looked at the snowfall, seeing it as nothing but a bad omen.

It seemed that his prediction was correct, for not a minute after he said that did small lights appear everywhere and began to float and sway about, as if carried by a nonexistent wind.

Even small Heartless appear through plumes of darkness.

"This can't be good..." Roxas said nervously as he looked at all of the monsters that suddenly appeared.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Meanwhile!<span>**

The ice-wielding harpist played her harp as she sat on the balcony of the castle.

The balcony itself was on a floor that was high enough to see over nearly the entirety of Radiant Garden.

The albino girl passionately played her crystalline harp, eyes closed in pleasure.

In the distance she could hear the terrified screams of the townsfolk below, but she honestly could not bring herself to care for them. There was only one person on her mind at the moment.

Her beloved...

She stopped playing for a moment and reached into the folds of her kimono.

The musician kept digging through her clothing until she pulled out a simple, white mask covered with golden filigree. On the center of the forehead area was what looked like a golden eye.

'I really must thank that mask salesman for letting me 'borrow' one of his masks.' she thought with a giggle as she examined the mask in her hands. 'The Mask of Souls... With this mask I'll be able to command the spirits of the dead to do as I say. I'll use them as a means to bring my beloved to me! He'll be mine before he knows it!' she thought with a giggle as a clearly disturbed looking smile appeared on her face.

With that thought, she placed the mask onto her face and positioned herself to begin playing once more.

As the somber and haunting tune filled the air once more, she heard the sound of soft footfalls behind her.

"You know, of all the people that I expected to find me first, you were the last on my mind Salesman." she said in a calm, cordial tone as she continued her performance.

The Happy Mask Salesman stepped into the faint moonlight that was able to peek through the clouds and chuckled.

"I was wondering where that mask went. But given that it was you, I should have known. Who else could trick a bunch of kids into doing their dirty work for them, you know, aside from me that is." the man said with his trademark grin as he looked at the girl through squinted eyes.

"What do you want, you creep?" the harpist asked, dropping all pretenses and getting right to the point.

"As cold as always I see..." the redhead said with a chuckle. "Very well. I would like to have back the mask you took from me." he said politely, though there was a hidden edge in his voice.

"You'll get it back once I have what I'm after." she said unfazed by the man's unspoken threat.

"Still after that boy I see." the salesman said with a chuckle as he held his chin. "You won't succeed you know. His friends won't let you." he said as he clasped his hands in front of him.

"I'm not worried about them. They'll be nothing but ice sculptures when I'm through with them." the white-haired girl said with a smirk.

"We shall see..." the Happy Mask Salesman said mysteriously. "But should you fail... I will be there, to calm your raging spirit, and collect the wonderful mask you will leave behind." he said as his smile took on a more sinister edge.

The harpist scoffed. "That's assuming if I fail! I won't. And you won't get the satisfaction of turning my soul into one of those masks you collect." she said haughtily.

"We shall see my friend. You know as they say though, arrogance comes before the fall." he said with yet another chuckle.

"Tch, away with you Salesman! I don't want you distracting me from my performance!" the girl said with a frown beneath the mask she wore.

"Very well... I shall let you continue your performance." the man said with a bow before he took his leave.

Once the redhead was out of the room, shadows completely covered his face, save for his massive grin. "Oh, Ms. Melody! You fail to realize that anything you do will only result in me winning in the end." he said with a sinister chuckle as he began to track down the hallway at a leisurely pace until he literally vanished from sight.

**End Theme**

**End of Chapter 14**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Author's Notes<span>**

Titano Man: And that's a wrap! Man did this take longer than I thought. This was likely one of my more slower chapters. There were times where I really wanted to cut to the chase, but there were also tons of things I wanted to put in. Especially since this chapter was more focused on world building and the such. I wanted to do a little more world building and show that Radiant Garden had good relations with a few places, hence Jack mentioning their trade agreement. Hopefully I was able to convey that well enough. The only real gripe I have with this is that I wish I was able to condense this chapter a little more without getting rid of something I wanted to implement or making a single scene overly long. But other than that, I'm alright with it.

Kairi: Anything else?

Titano Man: Well, I'm considering getting a Beta Reader and one of my regular readers had volunteered for the job. He won't beta every chapter I put out, but I'll be asking for quite a bit of input from him. But if anyone else is a fan and wants to beta one of my stories, then I'll consider it. After all, I can't have one guy beta every chapter of all of my stories. That would likely take time from his life and his own stories. So every beta can help with either one or two of my stories at a time. But if I can only have one beta, then I'll stick with the one who offered their services first. (Note this was written when I haven't check to see if there was a limit on beta readers or not.) So with that all said, roll the teaser!

Teaser:

Melody: Is my music not beautiful?

Koneko: Take a hint!

Nova: I HATE the cold!

Damon: You are such a yandere!

Dante: I'm here to kick ass and eat pizza. And I'm all out of pizza!

Karly: How do we stop her?!

Yuki: This is... The end!

**Narrator: Next time, Somber Snowfall**

Titano Man: So with that I bid you all goodbye. Stay awesome!

Damon: See you guys next time!

* * *

><p><span>Edit<span> (1/21/16): A notice to all of my readers. This chapter was original posted back in December but was quickly taken down to issues. Since then I have acquired a Beta Reader in the Unknowing Herald and have resolved all apparent issues by this time. And due to the recent holiday rush, my usual update pattern had been thrown off, so I'll be updating this story again very soon. Thank you all for your support and please continue to show your support by favoriting, following, and reviewing this story. Thank you.


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